Short training field for wifi

ABSTRACT

A communication device receives a first physical layer (PHY) data unit via a communication channel. The first PHY data unit corresponds to a trigger frame, and includes: a first PHY preamble having a legacy portion and a non-legacy portion, a first training field that includes a first training signal having a periodicity LP, and a second training field that includes a second training signal having the periodicity LP. The communication device generates a second PHY data unit. The second PHY data unit includes: a second PHY preamble that includes a third training field that includes a third training signal, and a fourth training field that includes a fourth training signal having a periodicity 2*LP. Generating the second PHY data unit comprises: modulating the third training field using a first tone spacing LTS between adjacent OFDM tones, and modulating the fourth training field using a second tone spacing equal to LTS/4 between adjacent OFDM tones.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/335,149, entitled “Short Training Field for WiFi,” filed on Oct. 26,2016, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/863,208, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,794,044, entitled “Short Training Fieldfor WiFi,” filed on Sep. 23, 2015, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/054,098, entitled “Short TrainingFields for High Efficiency WiFi,” filed on Sep. 23, 2014, U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/115,787, entitled “Short TrainingFields for High Efficiency WiFi,” filed on Feb. 13, 2015, U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/141,180, entitled “Short TrainingFields for High Efficiency WiFi,” filed on Mar. 31, 2015, and U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 62/218,322, entitled “Short TrainingFields for High Efficiency WiFi,” filed on Sep. 14, 2015. All of theapplications referenced above are incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

This application is also a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 15/883,806, entitled “Short Training Field for WiFi,” filed on Jan.30, 2018, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/883,806 is also a continuation ofthe above-identified U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/335,149,entitled “Short Training Field for WiFi,” filed on Oct. 26, 2016.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to communication networks and,more particularly, to wireless local area networks that utilize a shorttraining field in a physical layer preamble of data units.

BACKGROUND

Wireless local area networks (WLANs) have evolved rapidly over the pastdecade. Development of WLAN standards such as the Institute forElectrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g,and 802.11n Standards has improved single-user peak data throughput. Forexample, the IEEE 802.11b Standard specifies a single-user peakthroughput of 11 megabits per second (Mbps), the IEEE 802.11a and802.11g Standards specify a single-user peak throughput of 54 Mbps, theIEEE 802.11n Standard specifies a single-user peak throughput of 600Mbps, and the IEEE 802.11ac Standard specifies a single-user peakthroughput in the gigabits per second (Gbps) range. Future standardspromise to provide even greater throughputs, such as throughputs in thetens of Gbps range.

SUMMARY

In an embodiment, a method includes: receiving, at a communicationdevice, a first physical layer (PHY) data unit via a communicationchannel. The first PHY data unit corresponds to a trigger frame that isconfigured to prompt the communication device to transmit a second PHYdata unit in response to receiving the first PHY data unit. The firstPHY data unit includes: a first PHY preamble having a legacy portion anda non-legacy portion, a first training field in the legacy portion ofthe first PHY preamble, wherein the first training field is for packetdetection and for automatic gain control (AGC) adjustment, and whereinthe first training field includes a first training signal having aperiodicity LP, and a second training field in the non-legacy portion ofthe first PHY preamble, wherein the second training field includes asecond training signal having the periodicity LP. The method alsoincludes: generating, at the communication device, the second PHY dataunit. The second PHY data unit includes: a second PHY preamble having alegacy portion and a non-legacy portion, a third training field in thelegacy portion of the second PHY preamble, wherein the third trainingfield is for packet detection and for AGC adjustment, and wherein thethird training field includes a third training signal, and a fourthtraining field in the non-legacy portion of the second PHY preamble,wherein the fourth training field includes a fourth training signalhaving a periodicity 2*LP. Generating the second PHY data unitcomprises: modulating the third training field using a first tonespacing LTS between adjacent OFDM tones, and modulating the fourthtraining field using a second tone spacing equal to LTS/4 betweenadjacent OFDM tones. The method further includes: transmitting, by thecommunication device, the second PHY data unit in response to the firstPHY data unit.

In another embodiment, an apparatus comprises a network interface devicehaving one or more integrated circuit (IC) devices. The one or more ICdevices are configured to: receive a first physical layer (PHY) dataunit via a communication channel. The first PHY data unit corresponds toa trigger frame that is configured to prompt the network interfacedevice to transmit a second PHY data unit in response to receiving thefirst PHY data unit. The first PHY data unit includes: a first PHYpreamble having a legacy portion and a non-legacy portion, a firsttraining field in the legacy portion of the first PHY preamble, whereinthe first training field is for packet detection and for automatic gaincontrol (AGC) adjustment, and wherein the first training field includesa first training signal having a periodicity LP, and a second trainingfield in the non-legacy portion of the first PHY preamble, wherein thesecond training field includes a second training signal having theperiodicity LP. The one or more IC devices are further configured to:generate the second PHY data unit. The second PHY data unit includes: asecond PHY preamble having a legacy portion and a non-legacy portion, athird training field in the legacy portion of the second PHY preamble,wherein the third training field is for packet detection and for AGCadjustment, and wherein the third training field includes a thirdtraining signal, and a fourth training field in the non-legacy portionof the second PHY preamble, wherein the fourth training field includes afourth training signal having a periodicity 2*LP. Generating the secondPHY data unit comprises: modulating the third training field using afirst tone spacing LTS between adjacent OFDM tones, and modulating thefourth training field using a second tone spacing equal to LTS/4 betweenadjacent OFDM tones. The one or more IC devices are further configuredto transmit the second PHY data unit in response to the first PHY dataunit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example wireless local area network(WLAN), according to an embodiment.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams of a prior art data unit format.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of another prior art data unit format.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of another prior art data unit format.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of another prior art data unit format.

FIG. 6A is a group of diagrams of modulations used to modulate symbolsin a prior art data unit.

FIG. 6B is a group of diagrams of modulations used to modulate symbolsin an example data unit, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 7A is a diagram of an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing(OFDM) data unit, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 7B is a group of diagrams of modulations used to modulate symbolsin the data unit depicted in FIG. 7A, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an OFDM symbol, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example data unit in which a legacytone spacing is used for at least a portion of a preamble of the dataunit and a non-legacy tone spacing is used for at least a portion of thepreamble, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 10A is a diagram illustrating an example frequency sequence for anon-legacy short training field having a first periodicity, according toan embodiment.

FIG. 10B is a diagram illustrating another example frequency sequencefor a non-legacy short training field having the first periodicity,according to an embodiment.

FIG. 11A is a diagram illustrating an example frequency sequence for anon-legacy short training field having a second periodicity, accordingto an embodiment.

FIG. 11B is a diagram illustrating another example frequency sequencefor a non-legacy short training field having the second periodicity,according to an embodiment.

FIG. 11C is a diagram illustrating an example frequency sequence for anon-legacy short training field having the second periodicity, accordingto an embodiment.

FIG. 12A is a diagram illustrating an example frequency sequence for anon-legacy short training field having a third periodicity, according toan embodiment.

FIG. 12B is a diagram illustrating another example frequency sequencefor a non-legacy short training field having the third periodicity,according to an embodiment.

FIG. 13A is a diagram illustrating a time-domain function for a downlinknon-legacy short training field, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 13B is a diagram illustrating a time-domain function for an uplinknon-legacy short training field, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram of an example method for generating a dataunit that conforms to a first communication protocol for transmissionvia a communication channel, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram of another example method for generating adata unit that conforms to a first communication protocol fortransmission via a communication channel, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram of an example method for generating an OFDMdata unit that conforms to a first communication protocol fortransmission via a communication channel, according to an embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a flow diagram of an example method for causing atransmission of an OFDM data unit that conforms to a first communicationprotocol via a communication channel, according to an embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In embodiments described below, a wireless network device such as anaccess point (AP) of a wireless local area network (WLAN) transmits dataunits to one or more client stations. The AP is configured to operatewith client stations according to at least a first communicationprotocol. The first communication protocol is sometimes referred toherein as a “high efficiency Wi-Fi,” “HE” communication protocol, or anIEEE 802.11ax communication protocol. In some embodiments, differentclient stations in the vicinity of the AP are configured to operateaccording to one or more other communication protocols which defineoperation in the same frequency band as the HE communication protocolbut with generally lower data throughputs. The lower data throughputcommunication protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11n, and/or IEEE802.11ac) are collectively referred herein as “legacy” communicationprotocols.

When the AP transmits a data unit over a communication channel accordingto the HE communication protocol, a preamble of the data unit isformatted such that a client station that operates according to thelegacy protocol, and not the HE communication protocol, is able todetermine certain information regarding the data unit, such as aduration of the data unit, and/or that the data unit does not conform tothe legacy protocol. Additionally, a preamble of the data unit isformatted such that a client station that operates according to the HEprotocol is able to determine that the data unit conforms to the HEcommunication protocol. Similarly, a client station configured tooperate according to the HE communication protocol also transmits dataunits such as described above.

In at least some embodiments, the data unit has a first preambleportion, a second preamble portion, and a data portion. The firstpreamble portion is modulated using a first tone spacing and the secondpreamble portion and the data portion are modulated using a second tonespacing. The second tone spacing is smaller, in frequency, than thefirst tone spacing and provides improved throughput efficiency for atleast the data portion of the data unit. A short training field of thesecond preamble portion is generated with a periodicity based on thesecond tone spacing. In an embodiment, the HE communication protocoldefines a plurality of transmission modes specifying differentperiodicities for the short training field of the second preambleportion. In at least some embodiments and/or scenarios, the differentperiodicities provide improved reliability for power estimation orreduced overhead for improved data throughput. A first transmission modecorresponds to a short periodicity for the short training field and isgenerally used with communication channels characterized by shorterchannel delay spreads (e.g., indoor communication channels) and/orgenerally higher signal to noise ratio (SNR) values, while a secondtransmission mode corresponds to a relatively longer periodicity for theshort training field and is generally used with communication channelscharacterized by relatively longer channel delay spreads (e.g., outdoorcommunication channels) and/or generally lower SNR values, in anembodiment. In an embodiment, the access point determines thetransmission mode based on a deployment usage (e.g., indoors oroutdoors, high or low SNR values, triggered or non-triggeredtransmission) of the communication channel. In another embodiment, aclient station determines the transmission mode based on a triggerframe, a control frame, a management frame, or other suitable frame. Insome embodiments, the first preamble portion is configured to provide anindication of the transmission mode used for the short training field ofthe second preamble portion. In other embodiments, a trigger frame, acontrol frame, a management frame, or other suitable frame transmittedby the access point is configured to provide the indication of thetransmission mode for the short training field of a data unit to betransmitted by a client station.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example wireless local area network(WLAN) 10, according to an embodiment. An AP 14 includes a hostprocessor 15 coupled to a network interface 16. In an embodiment, thenetwork interface 16 includes one or more integrate circuits (ICs)configured to operate as discussed below. The network interface 16includes a medium access control (MAC) processing unit 18 and a physicallayer (PHY) processing unit 20. The PHY processing unit 20 includes aplurality of transceivers 21, and the transceivers 21 are coupled to aplurality of antennas 24. Although three transceivers 21 and threeantennas 24 are illustrated in FIG. 1, the AP 14 includes other suitablenumbers (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 5, etc.) of transceivers 21 and antennas 24 inother embodiments. In some embodiments, the AP 14 includes a highernumber of antennas 24 than transceivers 21, and antenna switchingtechniques are utilized.

In one embodiment, the MAC processing unit 18 and the PHY processingunit 20 are configured to operate according to a first communicationprotocol (e.g., the HE communication protocol), including at least afirst transmission mode and a second transmission mode of the firstcommunication protocol. In some embodiments, the first transmission modecorresponds to a first periodicity of a short training field. The firsttransmission mode is configured to reduce signaling overhead as comparedto the second transmission mode, which corresponds to a secondperiodicity that is longer than the first periodicity. In anotherembodiment, the MAC processing unit 18 and the PHY processing unit 20are also configured to operate according to a second communicationprotocol (e.g., according to the IEEE 802.11ac Standard). In yet anotherembodiment, the MAC processing unit 18 and the PHY processing unit 20are additionally configured to operate according to the secondcommunication protocol, a third communication protocol, and/or a fourthcommunication protocol (e.g., according to the IEEE 802.11a Standardand/or the IEEE 802.11n Standard).

The WLAN 10 includes a plurality of client stations 25. Although fourclient stations 25 are illustrated in FIG. 1, the WLAN 10 includes othersuitable numbers (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, etc.) of client stations 25 invarious scenarios and embodiments. At least one of the client stations25 (e.g., client station 25-1) is configured to operate at leastaccording to the first communication protocol. In some embodiments, atleast one of the client stations 25 is not configured to operateaccording to the first communication protocol but is configured tooperate according to at least one of the second communication protocol,the third communication protocol, and/or the fourth communicationprotocol (referred to herein as a “legacy client station”).

The client station 25-1 includes a host processor 26 coupled to anetwork interface 27. In an embodiment, the network interface 27includes one or more ICs configured to operate as discussed below. Thenetwork interface 27 includes a MAC processing unit 28 and a PHYprocessing unit 29. The PHY processing unit 29 includes a plurality oftransceivers 30, and the transceivers 30 are coupled to a plurality ofantennas 34. Although three transceivers 30 and three antennas 34 areillustrated in FIG. 1, the client station 25-1 includes other suitablenumbers (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 5, etc.) of transceivers 30 and antennas 34 inother embodiments. In some embodiments, the client station 25-1 includesa higher number of antennas 34 than transceivers 30, and antennaswitching techniques are utilized.

According to an embodiment, the client station 25-4 is a legacy clientstation, i.e., the client station 25-4 is not enabled to receive andfully decode a data unit that is transmitted by the AP 14 or anotherclient station 25 according to the first communication protocol.Similarly, according to an embodiment, the legacy client station 25-4 isnot enabled to transmit data units according to the first communicationprotocol. On the other hand, the legacy client station 25-4 is enabledto receive and fully decode and transmit data units according to thesecond communication protocol, the third communication protocol, and/orthe fourth communication protocol.

In an embodiment, one or both of the client stations 25-2 and 25-3, hasa structure that is the same as or similar to the client station 25-1.In an embodiment, the client station 25-4 has a structure similar to theclient station 25-1. In these embodiments, the client stations 25structured the same as or similar to the client station 25-1 have thesame or a different number of transceivers and antennas. For example,the client station 25-2 has only two transceivers and two antennas (notshown), according to an embodiment.

In various embodiments, the PHY processing unit 20 of the AP 14 isconfigured to generate data units conforming to the first communicationprotocol and having formats described herein. The transceiver(s) 21is/are configured to transmit the generated data units via theantenna(s) 24. Similarly, the transceiver(s) 21 is/are configured toreceive data units via the antenna(s) 24. The PHY processing unit 20 ofthe AP 14 is configured to process received data units conforming to thefirst communication protocol and having formats described hereinafterand to determine that such data units conform to the first communicationprotocol, according to various embodiments.

In various embodiments, the PHY processing unit 29 of the client device25-1 is configured to generate data units conforming to the firstcommunication protocol and having formats described herein. Thetransceiver(s) 30 is/are configured to transmit the generated data unitsvia the antenna(s) 34. Similarly, the transceiver(s) 30 is/areconfigured to receive data units via the antenna(s) 34. The PHYprocessing unit 29 of the client device 25-1 is configured to processreceived data units conforming to the first communication protocol andhaving formats described hereinafter and to determine that such dataunits conform to the first communication protocol, according to variousembodiments.

FIG. 2A is a diagram of a prior art OFDM data unit 200 that the AP 14 isconfigured to transmit to the legacy client station 25-4 via orthogonalfrequency division multiplexing (OFDM) modulation, according to anembodiment. In an embodiment, the legacy client station 25-4 is alsoconfigured to transmit the data unit 200 to the AP 14. The data unit 200conforms to the IEEE 802.11a Standard and occupies a 20 Megahertz (MHz)bandwidth. The data unit 200 includes a preamble having a legacy shorttraining field (L-STF) 202, generally used for packet detection, initialsynchronization, and automatic gain control, etc., and a legacy longtraining field (L-LTF) 204, generally used for channel estimation andfine synchronization. The data unit 200 also includes a legacy signalfield (L-SIG) 206, used to carry certain physical layer (PHY) parameterswith the data unit 200, such as modulation type and coding rate used totransmit the data unit, for example. The data unit 200 also includes adata portion 208. FIG. 2B is a diagram of example data portion 208 (notlow density parity check encoded), which includes a service field, ascrambled physical layer service data unit (PSDU), tail bits, andpadding bits, if needed. The data unit 200 is designed for transmissionover one spatial or space-time stream in a single input single output(SISO) channel configuration.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a prior art OFDM data unit 300 that the AP 14 isconfigured to transmit to the legacy client station 25-4 via OFDMmodulation, according to an embodiment. In an embodiment, the legacyclient station 25-4 is also configured to transmit the data unit 300 tothe AP 14. The data unit 300 conforms to the IEEE 802.11n Standard,occupies a 20 MHz bandwidth, and is designed for mixed mode situations,i.e., when the WLAN includes one or more client stations that conform tothe IEEE 802.11a Standard but not the IEEE 802.11n Standard. The dataunit 300 includes a preamble having an L-STF 302, an L-LTF 304, an L-SIG306, a high throughput signal field (HT-SIG) 308, a high throughputshort training field (HT-STF) 310, and M data high throughput longtraining fields (HT-LTFs) 312, where M is an integer generally based onthe number of spatial streams used to transmit the data unit 300 in amultiple input multiple output (MIMO) channel configuration. Inparticular, according to the IEEE 802.11n Standard, the data unit 300includes two HT-LTFs 312 if the data unit 300 is transmitted using twospatial streams, and four HT-LTFs 312 is the data unit 300 istransmitted using three or four spatial streams. An indication of theparticular number of spatial streams being utilized is included in theHT-SIG field 308. The data unit 300 also includes a data portion 314.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of a prior art OFDM data unit 400 that the AP 14 isconfigured to transmit to the legacy client station 25-4 via OFDMmodulation, according to an embodiment. In an embodiment, the legacyclient station 25-4 is also configured to transmit the data unit 400 tothe AP 14. The data unit 400 conforms to the IEEE 802.11n Standard,occupies a 20 MHz bandwidth, and is designed for “Greenfield”situations, i.e., when the WLAN does not include any client stationsthat conform to the IEEE 802.11a Standard, and only includes clientstations that conform to the IEEE 802.11n Standard. The data unit 400includes a preamble having a high throughput Greenfield short trainingfield (HT-GF-STF) 402, a first high throughput long training field(HT-LTF1) 404, a HT-SIG 406, and M data HT-LTFs 408. The data unit 400also includes a data portion 410.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a prior art OFDM data unit 500 that the AP 14 isconfigured to transmit to the legacy client station 25-4 via OFDMmodulation, according to an embodiment. In an embodiment, the legacyclient station 25-4 is also configured to transmit the data unit 500 tothe AP 14. The data unit 500 conforms to the IEEE 802.11ac Standard andis designed for “Mixed field” situations. The data unit 500 occupies a20 MHz bandwidth. In other embodiments or scenarios, a data unit similarto the data unit 500 occupies a different suitable bandwidth, such as a40 MHz, an 80 MHz, or a 160 MHz bandwidth. The data unit 500 includes apreamble having an L-STF 502, an L-LTF 504, an L-SIG 506, two first veryhigh throughput signal fields (VHT-SIGAs) 508 including a first veryhigh throughput signal field (VHT-SIGA1) 508-1 and a second very highthroughput signal field (VHT-SIGA2) 508-2, a very high throughput shorttraining field (VHT-STF) 510, M very high throughput long trainingfields (VHT-LTFs) 512, and a second very high throughput signal field(VHT-SIG-B) 514. The data unit 500 also includes a data portion 516. Inan embodiment, the data unit 500 occupies a bandwidth that is an integermultiple of 20 MHz and the L-STF 502 is duplicated within each 20 MHzsub-band. In an embodiment, the VHT-STF 510 has a duration of 4.0microseconds and uses a same frequency sequence as the L-STF 502. Forexample, in an embodiment, the VHT-STF 510 uses the frequency sequencedefined in equation 22-29 of the IEEE 802.11ac standard. In at leastsome embodiments, the VHT-STF 510 occupies a whole bandwidth for thedata unit 500 (e.g., 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, etc.) and is mapped tomultiple antennas for multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) orbeamforming in a manner similar to the data portion 516.

FIG. 6A is a set of diagrams illustrating modulation of the L-SIG,HT-SIG1, and HT-SIG2 fields of the data unit 300 of FIG. 3, as definedby the IEEE 802.11n Standard. The L-SIG field is modulated according tobinary phase shift keying (BPSK), whereas the HT-SIG1 and HT-SIG2 fieldsare modulated according to BPSK, but on the quadrature axis (Q-BPSK). Inother words, the modulation of the HT-SIG1 and HT-SIG2 fields is rotatedby 90 degrees as compared to the modulation of the L-SIG field.

FIG. 6B is a set of diagrams illustrating modulation of the L-SIG,VHT-SIGA1, and VHT-SIGA2 fields of the data unit 500 of FIG. 5, asdefined by the IEEE 802.11ac Standard. Unlike the HT-SIG1 field in FIG.6A, the VHT-SIGA1 field is modulated according to BPSK, same as themodulation of the L-SIG field. On the other hand, the VHT-SIGA2 field isrotated by 90 degrees as compared to the modulation of the L-SIG field(e.g., is modulated according to Q-BPSK modulation).

FIG. 7A is a diagram of an OFDM data unit 700 that the AP 14 isconfigured to transmit to the client station 25-1 via orthogonalfrequency domain multiplexing (OFDM) modulation, according to anembodiment. In an embodiment, the client station 25-1 is also configuredto transmit the data unit 700 to the AP 14. The data unit 700 conformsto the first communication protocol and occupies a 20 MHz bandwidth.Data units that conform to the first communication protocol similar tothe data unit 700 may occupy other suitable bandwidths such as 40 MHz,80 MHz, 160 MHz, 320 MHz, 640 MHz, etc., for example, or other suitablebandwidths, in other embodiments. The data unit 700 is suitable for“mixed mode” situations, i.e., when the WLAN 10 includes a clientstation (e.g., the legacy client station 25-4) that conforms to a legacycommunication protocol, but not the first communication protocol. Thedata unit 700 is utilized in other situations as well, in someembodiments.

In an embodiment, the data unit 700 includes a preamble 701 having anL-STF 702, an L-LTF 704, an L-SIG 706, two first HE signal fields(HE-SIGAs) 708 including a first HE signal field (HE-SIGA1) 708-1 and asecond HE signal field (HE-SIGA2) 708-2, an HE short training field(HE-STF) 710, M HE long training fields (HE-LTFs) 712, and a third HEsignal field (HE-SIGB) 714. In an embodiment, the preamble 701 includesa legacy portion 701-1, including the L-STF 702, the L-LTF 704, and theL-SIG 706, and a non-legacy portion 701-2, including the HE-SIGAs 708,HE-STF 710, M HE-LTFs 712, and HE-SIGB 714.

Each of the L-STF 702, the L-LTF 704, the L-SIG 706, the HE-SIGAs 708,the HE-STF 710, the M HE-LTFs 712, and the HE-SIGB 714 are included inan integer number of one or more OFDM symbols. For example, in anembodiment, the HE-SIGAs 708 correspond to two OFDM symbols, where theHE-SIGA1 708-1 field is included in the first OFDM symbol and theHE-SIGA2 is included in the second OFDM symbol. In another embodiment,for example, the preamble 701 includes a third HE signal field(HE-SIGA3, not shown) and the HE-SIGAs 708 correspond to three OFDMsymbols, where the HE-SIGA1 708-1 field is included in the first OFDMsymbol, the HE-SIGA2 is included in the second OFDM symbol, and theHE-SIGA3 is included in the third OFDM symbol. In at least someexamples, the HE-SIGAs 708 are collectively referred to as a single HEsignal field (HE-SIGA) 708. In some embodiments, the data unit 700 alsoincludes a data portion 716. In other embodiments, the data unit 700omits the data portion 716 (e.g., the data unit 700 is a null-datapacket).

In the embodiment of FIG. 7A, the data unit 700 includes one of each ofthe L-STF 702, the L-LTF 704, the L-SIG 706, and the HE-SIGA1s 708. Inother embodiments in which an OFDM data unit similar to the data unit700 occupies a cumulative bandwidth other than 20 MHz, each of the L-STF702, the L-LTF 704, the L-SIG 706, the HE-SIGA1s 708 is repeated over acorresponding number of 20 MHz-wide sub-bands of the whole bandwidth ofthe data unit, in an embodiment. For example, in an embodiment, the OFDMdata unit occupies an 80 MHz bandwidth and, accordingly, includes fourof each of the L-STF 702, the L-LTF 704, the L-SIG 706, and theHE-SIGA1s 708 in four 20 MHz-wide sub-bands that cumulatively span the80 MHz bandwidth, in an embodiment. In some embodiments, the modulationof different 20 MHz-wide sub-bands signals is rotated by differentangles. For example, in one embodiment, a first sub-band is rotated0-degrees, a second sub-band is rotated 90-degrees, a third sub-band isrotated 180-degrees, and a fourth sub-band is rotated 270-degrees. Inother embodiments, different suitable rotations are utilized. Thedifferent phases of the 20 MHz-wide sub-band signals result in reducedpeak to average power ratio (PAPR) of OFDM symbols in the data unit 700,in at least some embodiments. In an embodiment, if the data unit thatconforms to the first communication protocol is an OFDM data unit thatoccupies a cumulative bandwidth such as 20 MHz, 40 MHz, 80 MHz, 160 MHz,320 MHz, 640 MHz, etc., the HE-STF, the HE-LTFs, the HE-SIGB and the HEdata portion occupy the corresponding whole bandwidth of the data unit.

FIG. 7B is a set of diagrams illustrating modulation of the L-SIG 706,HE-SIGA1 708-1, and HE-SIGA2 708-2 of the data unit 700 of FIG. 7A,according to an embodiment. In this embodiment, the L-SIG 706, HE-SIGA1708-1, and HE-SIGA2 708-2 fields have the same modulation as themodulation of the corresponding field as defined in the IEEE 802.11acStandard and depicted in FIG. 6B. Accordingly, the HE-SIGA1 field 708-1is modulated using BPSK. On the other hand, the HE-SIGA2 field 708-2 isrotated by 90 degrees as compared to the modulation of the L-SIG field706. In some embodiments having the third HE-SIGA3 field, the HE-SIGA2field 708-2 is modulated the same as the L-SIG field 706 and theHE-SIGA1 field 708-1, while the HE-SIGA3 field is rotated by 90 degreesas compared to the modulation of the L-SIG field 706, the HE-SIGA1 field708-1, and the HE-SIGA2 field 708-2.

In an embodiment, because the modulations of the L-SIG 706, HE-SIGA1708-1, and HE-SIGA2 708-2 fields of the data unit 700 correspond to themodulations of the corresponding fields in a data unit that conforms tothe IEEE 802.11ac Standard (e.g., the data unit 500 of FIG. 5), legacyclient stations configured to operate according to the IEEE 802.11aStandard and/or the IEEE 802.11n Standard will process the data unit 700the same as they would the data unit 500 of FIG. 5. For example, aclient station that conforms to the IEEE 802.11a Standard will recognizethe legacy IEEE 802.11a Standard portion of the preamble of the dataunit 700 and will set a duration of the data unit (or the data unitduration) according to a duration indicated in the L-SIG 706. Forexample, the legacy client station 25-4 will calculate a duration forthe data unit based on a rate and a length (e.g., in number of bytes)indicated in the L-SIG field 706, according to an embodiment. In anembodiment, the rate and the length in the L-SIG field 706 are set suchthat a client station configured to operate according to a legacycommunication protocol will calculate, based the rate and the length, apacket duration (T) that corresponds to, or at least approximates, theactual duration of the data unit 700. For example, the rate is set toindicate a lowest rate defined by the IEEE 802.11a Standard (i.e., 6Mbps), and the length is set to a value computed such that packetduration computed using the lowest rate at least approximates the actualduration of the data unit 700, in one embodiment.

In an embodiment, a legacy client station that conforms to the IEEE802.11a Standard, when receiving the data unit 700, will compute apacket duration for the data unit 700, e.g., using a rate field and alength field of L-SIG field 706, and will wait until the end of thecomputed packet duration before performing clear channel assessment(CCA), in an embodiment. Thus, in this embodiment, communication mediumis protected against access by the legacy client station at least forthe duration of the data unit 700. In an embodiment, the legacy clientstation will continue decoding the data unit 700, but will fail an errorcheck (e.g., using a frame check sequence (FCS)) at the end of the dataunit 700.

Similarly, a legacy client station configured to operate according tothe IEEE 802.11n Standard, when receiving the data unit 700, willcompute a packet duration (T) of the data unit 700 based on the rate andthe length indicated in the L-SIG 706 of the data unit 700, in anembodiment. The legacy client station will detect the modulation of thefirst HE signal field (HE-SIGA1) 708-1 (BPSK) and will assume that thedata unit 700 is a legacy data unit that conforms to the IEEE 802.11aStandard. In an embodiment, the legacy client station will continuedecoding the data unit 700, but will fail an error check (e.g., using aframe check sequence (FCS)) at the end of the data unit. In any event,according to the IEEE 802.11n Standard, the legacy client station willwait until the end of a computed packet duration (T) before performingclear channel assessment (CCA), in an embodiment. Thus, communicationmedium will be protected from access by the legacy client station forthe duration of the data unit 700, in an embodiment.

A legacy client station configured to operate according to the IEEE802.11ac Standard but not the first communication protocol, whenreceiving the data unit 700, will compute a packet duration (T) of thedata unit 700 based on the rate and the length indicated in the L-SIG706 of the data unit 700, in an embodiment. However, the legacy clientstation will not be able to detect, based on the modulation of the dataunit 700, that the data unit 700 does not conform to the IEEE 802.11acStandard, in an embodiment. In some embodiments, one or more HE signalfields (e.g., the HE-SIGA1 and/or the HE-SIGA2) of the data unit 700is/are formatted to intentionally cause the legacy client station todetect an error when decoding the data unit 700, and to therefore stopdecoding (or “drop”) the data unit 700. For example, HE-SIGA 708 of thedata unit 700 is formatted to intentionally cause an error when a legacydevice according to the IEEE 802.11ac Standard attempts to decode theSIGA field 708, in an embodiment. Further, according to the IEEE802.11ac Standard, when an error is detected in decoding the VHT-SIGAfield, the client station will drop the data unit 700 and will waituntil the end of a computed packet duration (T), calculated, forexample, based on a rate and a length indicated in the L-SIG 706 of thedata unit 700, before performing clear channel assessment (CCA), in anembodiment. Thus, communication medium will be protected from access bythe legacy client station for the duration of the data unit 700, in anembodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram of an OFDM symbol 800, according to an embodiment.The data unit 700 of FIG. 7 includes OFDM symbols such as the OFDMsymbols 800, in an embodiment. The OFDM symbol 800 includes a guardinterval (GI) portion 802 and an information portion 804. In anembodiment, the guard interval 802 comprises a cyclic prefix repeatingan end portion of the OFDM symbol. In an embodiment, the guard intervalportion 802 is used to ensure orthogonality of OFDM tones at a receivingdevice (e.g., the client station 25-1) and to minimize or eliminateinter-symbol interference due to, for example, multi-path propagation inthe communication channel via which the OFDM symbol 800 is transmitted(e.g., a communication channel from a transmitting device (e.g., the AP14) to the receiving device). In an embodiment, the length of the guardinterval portion 802 is selected based on expected worst case channeldelay spread in the communication channel between the transmittingdevice and the receiving device. For example, a longer guard interval isselected for outdoor communication channels typically characterized bylonger channel delay spreads as compared to a shorter guard intervalselected for indoor communication channels typically characterized byshorter channel delay spreads, in an embodiment. In an embodiment, thelength of the guard interval portion 802 is selected based on a tonespacing (e.g., frequency spacing between adjacent sub-carriers of theOFDM data unit) with which the information portion 804 has beengenerated. For example, a longer guard interval is selected for anarrower tone spacing (e.g., an OFDM data unit having 256 tones orsub-carriers for a given bandwidth) as compared to a shorter guardinterval for a wider tone spacing (e.g., an OFDM data unit having 64tones for the given bandwidth).

According to an embodiment, the guard interval portion 802 correspondsto a short guard interval, a normal guard interval, or a long guardinterval, depending on a transmission mode being utilized. In anembodiment, the short guard interval or the normal guard interval isused for indoor communication channels, communication channels withrelatively short channel delay spreads, or communication channels havingsuitably high SNR values, and the long guard interval is used foroutdoor communication channels, communication channels with relativelylong delay spreads, or communication channels not having suitably highSNR values. In an embodiment, the normal guard interval or the shortguard interval is used for some or all OFDM symbols of an HE data unit(e.g., the HE data unit 700) when the HE data unit is transmitted in thefirst transmission mode, and the long guard interval is used for atleast some OFDM symbols of the HE data unit when the HE data unit istransmitted in the second transmission mode.

In an embodiment, the short guard interval (SGI) has a length of 0.4 μs,the normal guard interval has a length of 0.8 μs and the long guardinterval (LGI) has a length of 1.2 μs or 1.8 μs. In an embodiment, theinformation portion 804 has a length of 3.2 μs. In other embodiments,the information portion 804 has an increased length that corresponds tothe tone spacing with which the information portion 804 has beengenerated. In an embodiment, the remaining length of the informationportion 804 is filled with a copy of a received time-domain signal(e.g., the information portion 804 contains two copies of the receivedtime-domain signal). In other embodiments, other suitable lengths forthe SGI, the NGI, the LGI, and/or the information portion 804 areutilized. In some embodiments, the SGI has a length that is 50% of thelength of the NGI, and the NGI has a length that is 50% of the length ofthe LGI. In other embodiments, the SGI has a length that is 75% or lessof the length of the NGI, and the NGI has a length that is 75% or lessof the length of the LGI. In other embodiments, the SGI has a lengththat is 50% or less of the length of the NGI, and the NGI has a lengththat is 50% or less of the LGI.

In other embodiments, OFDM modulation with reduced tone spacing is usedfor OFDM symbols in different portions of the data unit. For example, alegacy portion of the preamble of the data unit for a 20 MHz bandwidthOFDM data unit corresponds to a 64-point discrete Fourier transform(DFT), resulting in 64 OFDM tones (e.g., indices −32 to +31), whereas anon-legacy portion of the preamble and a non-legacy data portion of thedata unit use a 256-point DFT for a 20 MHz bandwidth OFDM data unit,resulting in 256 OFDM tones (e.g., indices −128 to +127 or othersuitable values) in the same bandwidth. In this case, tone spacing inthe non-legacy OFDM symbols is reduced by a factor of four (¼) comparedto legacy OFDM symbols.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example data unit 900 in which alegacy tone spacing is used for at least a portion of a preamble of thedata unit and a non-legacy tone spacing is used for at least a portionof the preamble, according to an embodiment. In various embodiments, thelegacy tone spacing is a multiple of the non-legacy tone spacing toincrease bandwidth efficiency. The data unit 900 is generally the sameas the data unit 700 of FIG. 7A and includes like-numbered elements withthe data unit 700 of FIG. 7A. The HE-SIGA field 708 (e.g., the HE-SIGA1708-1 or the HE-SIGA2 708-2) of the data unit 900 includes a periodicityindication (PI) 902. According to an embodiment, the periodicityindication 902 is set to identify a periodicity selected from aplurality of different periodicities for a HE-STF field 910. In anembodiment, the periodicity indication 902 comprises one bit, wherein afirst value of the bit indicates a first periodicity and a second valueof the bit indicates a second periodicity, where the second periodicityis longer than the first periodicity. In some embodiments, theperiodicity indication 902 is combined with a modulation and codingscheme (MCS) indicator. In an embodiment, for example, the firstperiodicity corresponds to MCS values for high SNR values, while thesecond periodicity corresponds to MCS values for low SNR values. Inother embodiments, the periodicity indication 902 has a plurality ofbits that indicate one of the plurality of different periodicities.

In various embodiments, the periodicity of the HE-STF field 910corresponds to tone spacings used for the data unit 900. As illustratedin FIG. 9, a preamble 904 of the data unit 900 includes a legacy tonespacing portion 904-1 and a non-legacy tone spacing portion 904-2. Thelegacy tone spacing portion 904-1 includes the L-STF field 702, theL-LTF field 704, the L-SIG field 706, and the HE-SIGAs 708. Thenon-legacy tone spacing portion 904-2 includes the HE-STF 910, the MHE-LTFs 712, and the HE-SIGB 714. The legacy tone spacing portion 904-1is generated with a first tone spacing, while the non-legacy tonespacing portion and the data portion 716 are generated with a different,second tone spacing (e.g., HE tone spacing), in the illustratedembodiment. In various embodiments and/or scenarios, the first tonespacing is an integer multiple M of the second tone spacing. Forexample, in an embodiment, the first tone spacing is a multiple of four(i.e., M=4) compared to the second tone spacing and thus the tonespacing of OFDM symbols for the data portion 716 and at least some ofthe non-legacy preamble 904-2 is reduced by a factor of four (¼)compared to legacy OFDM symbols. In other embodiments, the integer tonemultiple M is two, three, five, or another suitable value. In someembodiments, the multiple M is not an integer, but is a positive, realnumber. In an illustrative embodiment, the first tone spacing is alegacy tone spacing of 312.5 KHz for a 64-point DFT across a bandwidthof 20 MHz, M is equal to four, and the second tone spacing is 78.125KHz. In some embodiments, the tone spacing and symbol duration of theHE-STF 910 is different from other non-legacy fields, such as the MHE-LTFs 712, the HE-SIGB 714, and data portion 716.

In various embodiments and/or scenarios, the AP 14 generates the HE-STF910 to conform to the HE communication protocol, to have an integernumber of OFDM symbols N, to have a periodicity H_(P), and to be basedon a frequency sequence having non-zero values at an integer interval K.In at least some embodiments, the periodicity H_(P) is selected to be i)proportional to a legacy periodicity L_(P) of the L-STF 702 and theinterval K, and ii) inversely proportional to the tone multiple M. In anembodiment, the periodicity H_(P) is determined as:

$H_{P} = {\frac{4 \cdot M \cdot L_{P}}{K}.}$

For example, in an illustrative embodiment, the legacy periodicity isequal to 0.8 microseconds, the tone multiple M is equal to four, and theinterval K is equal to 16, thus the periodicity H_(P) of the HE-STF 910is equal to 0.8 microseconds. In another embodiment, the legacyperiodicity is equal to 0.8 microseconds, the tone multiple M is equalto four, and the interval K is equal to 8, thus the periodicity H_(P) ofthe HE-STF 910 is equal to 1.6 microseconds. In yet another embodiment,the legacy periodicity is equal to 0.8 microseconds, the tone multiple Mis equal to four, and the interval K is equal to 4, thus the periodicityH_(P) of the HE-STF 910 is equal to 3.2 microseconds.

FIG. 10A is a diagram illustrating an example frequency sequence 1000for a non-legacy short training field (e.g., the HE-STF 910) having afirst periodicity, according to an embodiment. The frequency sequence1000 has non-zero values for tones at an interval K across at least aportion of a whole bandwidth of the OFDM symbol. In the illustratedembodiment, the whole bandwidth of the OFDM symbol is 20 MHz, themultiple M is equal to four (i.e., 256 tones), and the interval K isequal to 16, which corresponds to a time domain periodicity equal to 0.8microseconds for the HE-STF 910. In various embodiments, the AP 14transmits an integer number N repetitions of an OFDM symbol using thefrequency sequence 1000 as the HE-STF 910, where N is at least five. Forexample, in various embodiments and/or scenarios, the HE-STF 910includes five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten or more instances of thefrequency sequence 1000 such that the HE-STF 910 has a total duration of4 microseconds (5*0.8), 4.8 microseconds (6*0.8), 5.6 microseconds(7*0.8), 6.4 microseconds (8*0.8), 7.2 microseconds (9*0.8), or 8.0microseconds (10*0.8), or more, respectively. In some embodiments, theAP 14 selects the number N repetitions based on the deployment usage,signal strength, SNR, distance to communication devices, or othersuitable factors. For example, in an embodiment, the AP 14 selects agenerally lower number N for indoor deployments, high signal strength,high SNR, or short distances to communication devices and selects agenerally higher number N for outdoor deployments, low signal strength,low SNR, or long distances to communication devices.

In some embodiments, one or more tones at a direct current (DC) tone(i.e., tone 0 as illustrated) or tones neighboring the DC tone (e.g.,center tones) are omitted from the HE-STF 910 (i.e., provided with anull value, zero value, or near-zero value). In some embodiments, one ormore tones adjacent to edges of the whole bandwidth of the OFDM symbol(i.e., guard tones) are omitted from the HE-STF 910. For example, in anembodiment, the DC tone and guard tones at ±112, −128 and +127 areomitted. In another embodiment, the DC tone and guard tones at −128 and+127 are omitted. In an embodiment, center tones and guard tones areomitted from the frequency sequence 1000 such that the HE-STF 910 andthe L-STF 702 have a similar frequency sequence having 12 non-zero tonesper 20 MHz sub-band. In some embodiments, the whole bandwidth of theOFDM symbol is a multiple of 20 MHz, for example, 40 MHz, 60 MHz, 80MHz, etc. and the frequency sequence 1000 is duplicated to occupy thewhole bandwidth. In an embodiment, at least some of the duplicatedinstances of the frequency sequence 1000 are phase rotated, similar tophase rotation defined in the IEEE 802.11ac Standard, to reduce a peakto average power ratio (PAPR) of the OFDM symbol.

FIG. 10B is a diagram illustrating another example frequency sequence1025 for a non-legacy short training field (e.g., the HE-STF 910) havingthe first periodicity, according to an embodiment. The frequencysequence 1025 is generally similar to the frequency sequence 1000 (i.e.,multiple M is equal to four, interval K is equal to 16, and N is atleast 5), but the whole bandwidth of the frequency sequence 1025 is 80MHz, the DC tone is omitted, and outer guard tones at ±496, −512, and+511 are omitted, in the illustrated embodiment.

In various embodiments, the frequency sequence for the HE-STF 910 isselected to minimize the peak to average power ratio (PAPR) by using avalue of (1+j)√(2) or (−1−j)√(2) for each non-zero tone. In anembodiment, the frequency sequence for the HE-STF 910 having aperiodicity equal to 0.8 microseconds and a whole bandwidth of 20 MHz isgiven by:

HES_(−112:112)={−1−j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, −1−j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅,−1−j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 0 , 0₁₅, −1−j, 0₁₅, −1−j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅,1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j}√(2) where 0₁₅ indicates 15 contiguous zeros.

In an embodiment, the frequency sequence for the HE-STF 910 having aperiodicity equal to 0.8 microseconds and a whole bandwidth of 40 MHz isgiven by:

HES_(−240:240)={−1−j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, −1−j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅,−1−j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, −1−j, 0₁₅, −1−j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅,1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 0, 0₁₅, −1−j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅,−1−j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, −1−j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, −1−j, 0₁₅, −1−j,0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j}√(2)

where 0₁₅ indicates 15 contiguous zeros.

In an embodiment, the frequency sequence for the HE-STF 910 having aperiodicity equal to 0.8 microseconds and a whole bandwidth of 80 MHz isgiven by:

HES_(−496:496)={−1−j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, −1−j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅,−1−j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, −1−j, 0₁₅, −1−j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅,1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, −1−j, 0₁₅, −1−j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅,−1−j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, −1−j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, −1−j, 0₁₅, −1−j,0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 0, 0₁₅, −1−j,0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, −1−j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, −1−j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j,0₁₅, −1−j, 0₁₅, −1−j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j,0₁₅, −1−j, 0₁₅, −1−j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0_(15, 1+)j, 0₁₅, −1−j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅,−1−j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, −1−j, 0₁₅, −1−j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅,1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j, 0₁₅, 1+j }√(2)

where 0₁₅ indicates 15 contiguous zeros.

FIG. 11A is a diagram illustrating an example frequency sequence 1100for a non-legacy short training field (e.g., the HE-STF 910) having asecond periodicity, according to an embodiment. The frequency sequence1100 is generally similar to the frequency sequence 1000 (i.e., wholebandwidth of 20 MHz, multiple M is equal to four), but the number N isat least three and the interval K is equal to eight, which correspondsto a time domain periodicity equal to 1.6 microseconds for the HE-STF910, in the illustrated embodiment. In various embodiments and/orscenarios, the HE-STF 910 includes three, four, five or more instancesof the frequency sequence 1100 such that the HE-STF 910 has a totalduration of 4.8 microseconds (3*1.6), 6.4 microseconds (4*1.6), 8microseconds (5*1.6), or more, respectively.

In a similar manner as described above with reference to the frequencysequence 1000, in various embodiments, one or more tones at the DC tone,neighboring the DC tone, or tones adjacent to edges of the wholebandwidth (e.g., tones at ±104, ±112, or ±120) are omitted from thefrequency sequence 1100. In various embodiments, for example, the HE-STF910 is generated using the frequency sequence 1100 having 24 tones(omitting the DC tone and guard tones at ±104, ±112, and ±120), 26 tones(omitting the DC tone and guard tones at ±112 and ±120), 28 tones(omitting the DC tone and guard tones at ±120), 30 tones (omitting theDC tone), or another suitable number of tones. In some embodiments, thewhole bandwidth of the OFDM symbol is a multiple of 20 MHz, for example,40 MHz, 60 MHz, 80 MHz, etc. and the frequency sequence 1100 isduplicated to occupy the whole bandwidth. In an embodiment, at leastsome of the duplicated instances of the frequency sequence 1100 arephase rotated, similar to 802.11ac phase rotation, to reduce a peak toaverage power ratio (PAPR) of the OFDM symbol.

FIG. 11B is a diagram illustrating another example frequency sequence1125 for a non-legacy short training field (e.g., the HE-STF 910) havingthe second periodicity, according to an embodiment. The frequencysequence 1125 is generally similar to the frequency sequence 1100 (i.e.,whole bandwidth of 20 MHz, multiple M is equal to four, interval K isequal to eight, and N is at least three), but the frequency sequence1125 is based on a frequency sequence for a legacy short training fieldthat occupies a whole bandwidth of 40 MHz. For example, in anembodiment, the frequency sequence 1125 has 24 tones based on thefrequency sequence for the HT-STF 310 (FIG. 3) or VHT-STF 510 (FIG. 5)for a 40 MHz whole bandwidth, as defined in equation 20-20 of the IEEE802.11-2012 standard, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety. In another embodiment, the frequency sequence1125 has 26 tones based on the frequency sequence for the HT-STF 310(FIG. 3) or VHT-STF 510 (FIG. 5) for a 40 MHz whole bandwidth and alsoincluding non-zero tones neighboring the DC tone at ±8.

FIG. 11C is a diagram illustrating an example frequency sequence 1150for a non-legacy short training field (e.g., the HE-STF 910) having thesecond periodicity, according to an embodiment. The frequency sequence1150 is generally similar to the frequency sequence 1125 (i.e., wholebandwidth of 20 MHz, multiple M is equal to four, interval K is equal toeight, and N is at least three). The frequency sequence 1150 has 24tones based on the frequency sequence for the legacy short trainingfield, but is shifted inwards towards the DC tone by eight tones, in theillustrated embodiment. In another embodiment, the frequency sequence1150 has 26 tones based on the frequency sequence for the HT-STF 310(FIG. 3) or VHT-STF 510 (FIG. 5) for a 40 MHz whole bandwidth that isshifted inwards toward the DC tone by eight tones and also includingnon-zero tones adjacent to edges of the whole bandwidth (e.g., tones at±112, ±120, or tones at both ±112 and ±120). In other embodiments, thefrequency sequence 1150 is shifted outwards from the DC tone by 8, 16,24, or another suitable number of tones.

In various embodiments, the frequency sequence for the HE-STF 910 isselected to minimize the peak to average power ratio (PAPR) by using avalue of (1+j)√(2) or (−1−j)√(2) for each non-zero tone. In one suchembodiment, the frequency sequence for the HE-STF 910 having aperiodicity equal to 1.6 microseconds and a whole bandwidth of 20 MHz isgiven by:

HES_(−120:120)={−1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j,0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇,1+j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, 0, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇,1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j,0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j}√(2)

where 0₇ indicates seven contiguous zeros.

In an embodiment, the frequency sequence for the HE-STF 910 having aperiodicity equal to 1.6 microseconds and a whole bandwidth of 40 MHz isgiven by:

HES_(−240:240)={−1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j,0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇,1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, 1+j,0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇,−1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, 0, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j,0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇,−1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j,0₇, 1+j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0_(7, 1+)j, 0₇,−1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j}√(2)

where 0₇ indicates seven contiguous zeros.

In an embodiment, the frequency sequence for the HE-STF 910 having aperiodicity equal to 1.6 microseconds and a whole bandwidth of 80 MHz isgiven by:

HES_(−496:496)={−1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j,0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇,1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, 1+j,0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇,−1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇,−1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j,0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇,−1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j,0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, 0, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇,−1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇,1+j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j,0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇,−1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j,0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j,0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇,1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, 1+j,0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇, −1−j, 0₇, 1+j, 0₇,−1−j}√(2)

where 0₇ indicates seven contiguous zeros.

FIG. 12A is a diagram illustrating an example frequency sequence 1200for a non-legacy short training field (e.g., the HE-STF 910) having athird periodicity, according to an embodiment. The frequency sequence1200 is generally similar to the frequency sequence 1000 (i.e., wholebandwidth of 20 MHz, multiple M is equal to four), but the number N isat least two and the interval K is equal to four, which corresponds to atime domain periodicity equal to 3.2 microseconds for the HE-STF 910, inthe illustrated embodiment. In some embodiments, the whole bandwidth ofthe OFDM symbol is a multiple of 20 MHz, for example, 40 MHz, 60 MHz, 80MHz, etc. and the frequency sequence 1200 is duplicated to occupy thewhole bandwidth. In an embodiment, at least some of the duplicatedinstances of the frequency sequence 1200 are phase rotated, similar to802.11ac phase rotation, to reduce a peak to average power ratio (PAPR)of the OFDM symbol.

In various embodiments and/or scenarios, the HE-STF 910 includes two,three, four, or more instances of the frequency sequence 1200 such thatthe HE-STF 910 has a total duration of 6.4 microseconds (2*3.2), 9.6microseconds (3*3.2), 12.8 microseconds (4*3.2), or more, respectively.In a similar manner as described above with reference to the frequencysequence 1000, in various embodiments, one or more tones at the DC tone,neighboring the DC tone, or adjacent to edges of the whole bandwidth(e.g., tones at ±100, ±104, ±108, ±112, ±116, ±120) are omitted from thefrequency sequence 1200. In various embodiments, for example, the HE-STF910 is generated using the frequency sequence 1200 having 48 tones(omitting the DC tone and guard tones at ±100, ±104, ±108, ±112, ±116,±120), 50 tones (omitting the DC tone and guard tones at ±104, ±108,±112, ±116, ±120), 52 tones (omitting the DC tone and guard tones at±108, ±112, ±116, ±120), 54 tones (omitting the DC tone and guard tonesat ±112, ±116, ±120), 56 tones (omitting the DC tone and guard tones at±116, ±120), 58 tones (omitting the DC tone and guard tones at ±120), 60tones (omitting the DC tone), or another suitable number of tones.

FIG. 12B is a diagram illustrating another example frequency sequence1225 for a non-legacy short training field (e.g., the HE-STF 910) havingthe third periodicity, according to an embodiment. The frequencysequence 1225 is generally similar to the frequency sequence 1200 (i.e.,whole bandwidth of 20 MHz, multiple M is equal to four, interval K isequal to four, and N is at least two), but the frequency sequence 1225is based on a frequency sequence for a legacy short training field thatoccupies a whole bandwidth of 80 MHz. For example, in an embodiment, thefrequency sequence 1225 is based on the frequency sequence for theVHT-STF 510 (FIG. 5) for an 80 MHz whole bandwidth, as defined inequation 22-31 of the IEEE 802.11ac standard, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In an embodiment, thefrequency sequence 1225 is based on the frequency sequence for theVHT-STF 510 (FIG. 5) for an 80 MHz whole bandwidth and also includesnon-zero tones adjacent to the DC tone at ±4.

In another embodiment, the frequency sequence 1225 is based on thefrequency sequence for the VHT-STF 510 (FIG. 5) for an 80 MHz wholebandwidth and is shifted inwards to the DC tone by 4 tones. In otherembodiments, the frequency sequence 1225 is based on the frequencysequence for the VHT-STF 510 (FIG. 5) for an 80 MHz whole bandwidth andis shifted outwards from the DC tone by 4, 8, 12, 16, or anothersuitable number of tones. The frequency sequence for the 80 MHz VHT-STFis itself based on a duplication of the frequency sequence for the 40MHz VHT-STF. In an embodiment, the frequency sequence 1225 is based onthe frequency sequence for the VHT-STF 510 (FIG. 5) for the 80 MHz wholebandwidth and also includes non-zero tones adjacent to the DC tone at ±4and adjacent to the DC tones of the frequency sequence for the 40 MHzVHT-STF, for example, at ±60 and ±68.

In the embodiments described above with respect to FIGS. 10A, 10B, 11A,11B, 11C, 12A, and 12B, the periodicity H_(P) is equal to 0.8microseconds, 1.6 microseconds, or 3.2 microseconds. In variousembodiments and/or scenarios, the AP 14 selects a transmission mode thatcorresponds to a periodicity value of a plurality of periodicity values.The AP 14 generates the HE-STF 910 with the corresponding periodicityvalue and also generates the periodicity indication 902 to indicate theperiodicity value or the transmission mode. In various embodimentsand/or scenarios, the AP 14 selects the transmission mode based on adeployment usage of the communication channel. For example, in anembodiment, a first transmission mode corresponds to a generally shortperiodicity (e.g., 0.8 microseconds) for low density sampling of theHE-STF 910 and is generally used with communication channelscharacterized by shorter channel delay spreads (e.g., indoorcommunication channels) or generally higher SNR values. In thisembodiment, a second transmission mode corresponds to a generally longerperiodicity (e.g., 1.6 microseconds or 3.2 microseconds) for highdensity sampling of the HE-STF 910 and is generally used withcommunication channels characterized by generally longer channel delayspreads (e.g., outdoor communication channels) or generally lower SNRvalues. In some scenarios, the first transmission mode helps to reducesignaling overhead and increase bandwidth efficiency and the secondtransmission mode helps to improve decoding reliability for powerestimation.

The periodicity indication 902 is an explicit indication of thetransmission mode and/or periodicity, in at least some embodiments. Inan embodiment, the AP 14 repeats the HE-SIGA1 field 708-1 for two OFDMsymbols to indicate the second transmission mode and does not repeat theHE-SIGA1 field 708-1 to indicate the first transmission mode. In thisembodiment, a client station that receives the data unit 900auto-detects the repeated HE-SIGA1 field 708-1 for the secondtransmission mode and then prepares to decode the HE-STF 910 using thecorresponding periodicity and/or integer number N repetitions. Inanother embodiment, a last OFDM symbol of the HE-SIGA field 708 ismodulated using QBPSK rotation to indicate the first transmission modewhile BPSK rotation indicates the second transmission mode. In otherembodiments, the periodicity indication 902 is an implicit indication ofthe transmission mode or periodicity. In an embodiment, for example, thefirst transmission mode corresponds to the short periodicity and a shortguard interval, while the second transmission mode corresponds to thelong periodicity and a long guard interval. In this embodiment, theclient station 25 decodes the HE-STF 910 using the short periodicityupon detection of the short guard interval and decodes the HE-STF 910using the long periodicity upon detection of the long guard interval.

In some embodiments, the transmission modes correspond to both a valuefor the periodicity and a value for the integer number N repetitions ofthe OFDM symbol for the HE-STF 910. In other embodiments, the AP 14selects from three, four, or more transmission modes, each correspondingto a different periodicity and/or integer number N repetitions. In theseembodiments, the periodicity indication 902 indicates both theperiodicity and the integer number N repetitions. For example, in anembodiment, the periodicity indication 902 is a field having one bitthat indicates the periodicity (e.g., “0” for a short periodicity and“1” for a long periodicity) and also having two bits that indicate theinteger number N repetitions (e.g., 1, 2, 3, or 4 repetitionsrepresented in binary). In another embodiment, the periodicityindication 902 is a field having two bits that indicate one of threeperiodicities (e.g., “00” for a 0.8 microseconds, “01” for 1.6microseconds, and “11” for 3.2 microseconds) and also having two bitsthat correspond to predetermined numbers of N repetitions (e.g., 1, 2,4, or 8 repetitions). In other embodiments, the periodicity indication902 has one, two, three, or more bits that indicate the periodicity andone, two, three, or more bits that indicate the integer number Nrepetitions.

In various embodiments or scenarios, the AP 14 transmits one or more ofthe data units 900 to the client station 25 as a downlink data unit. Insome embodiments, the downlink data unit 900 is a downlink multi-usermultiple input, multiple output data (MU-MIMO) data unit. In someembodiments, the downlink data unit 900 is a downlink orthogonalfrequency division multiple access (OFDMA) data unit. In someembodiments, the downlink data unit 900 is a MU-MIMO OFDMA data unit. Insome embodiments, the AP 14 transmits the HE-STF 910 using two or moretransmit antennas of the AP 14 (or each transmit antenna of the AP 14).In an embodiment, the AP 14 modulates the HE-STF 910 and the dataportion 716 using a same steering matrix (e.g., antenna mapping). Inanother embodiment where a tone used by the HE-STF 910 is not used bythe data portion 716, the AP 14 uses a steering matrix for an adjacentor closest neighboring data tone. In yet another embodiment where a toneused by the HE-STF 910 is not used by the data portion 716, the AP 14determines a random or pseudo-random steering matrix having a suitabledimension and normalization for the HE-STF 910. In another embodimentwhere a tone used by the HE-STF 910 is not used by the data portion 716,the AP 14 determines a steering matrix for the HE-STF 910 byinterpolating steering matrices for neighboring data tones.

In some embodiments, the AP 14 uses a reduced number of steeringmatrices (i.e., fewer than the total number of OFDM tones) by using asame steering matrix for a plurality of consecutive tones. For example,in an embodiment, the AP 14 uses a steering matrix for a group of four,eight, sixteen, or another suitable number of consecutive tones. In someembodiments, the number of consecutive tones per steering matrixcorresponds to the selected periodicity. In an embodiment where theselected periodicity is 0.8 microseconds, the number of consecutivetones per steering matrix group is four, eight, or sixteen tones. Inanother embodiment where the selected periodicity is 1.6 microseconds,the number of consecutive tones per steering matrix group is four oreight tones.

In various embodiments and/or scenarios, at least some frame typescorrespond to respective sets of transmission modes. For example, in anembodiment, a frame type of uplink multi-user (UL-MU) frames (e.g.,uplink MU-MIMO frames and/or uplink OFDMA frames) corresponds to aplurality of transmission modes. In this embodiment, each transmissionmode of the plurality of transmission modes corresponds to an HE-STFwith a periodicity and/or OFDM symbol pattern that is different from theother transmission modes. In an embodiment, a client station 25transmits an OFDM frame of the UL-MU frame type in response to atransmission mode frame transmitted by an AP 14. In various embodiments,the transmission mode frame is a trigger frame, control frame,management frame, or other suitable frame.

In various embodiments, the AP 14 explicitly identifies or “signals” thetransmission mode to be used by the client station for the uplinkmulti-user frame. In some embodiments, the AP identifies thetransmission mode in the trigger frame. In an embodiment, the AP 14identifies the transmission mode in the PHY header of the trigger frame,for example, using the periodicity indication 902 as described abovewith respect to FIG. 9. In another embodiment, the AP 14 identifies thetransmission mode in a MAC frame. In another embodiment, the AP 14explicitly identifies the transmission mode in a control frame ormanagement frame, for example, a beacon frame, a request to send (RTS)frame, or other suitable control and/or management frame.

In some embodiments, the AP 14 implicitly identifies the transmissionmode. In an embodiment, the AP 14 generates the trigger frame so that areceiver (e.g., the client station) can decode or determine thetransmission mode based on content of the trigger frame. In anembodiment, the content includes resource allocation information thatimplicitly identifies the transmission mode. The resource allocationinformation generally identifies OFDMA resource units (RUs) to be usedby a plurality of client stations in response to the trigger frame. Insome embodiments, the resource allocation information implicitlyidentifies the transmission mode based on an allocation status of apredetermined OFDMA RU. In an embodiment, the resource allocationinformation implicitly identifies i) a first transmission mode to beused by each of the plurality of client stations if the predeterminedOFDMA RU (e.g., a center 26-tone RU) is allocated to any of theplurality of client stations, or ii) a second transmission mode to beused by each of the plurality of client stations if the predeterminedOFDMA RU is not allocated to any of the plurality of client stations. Inanother embodiment, the resource allocation information implicitlyidentifies the first transmission mode for the client station to whichthe predetermined OFDMA RU (e.g., the center 26-tone RU) has beenallocated and the second transmission mode for the remaining clientstations of the plurality of client stations. In other embodiments, theAP 14 generates a control frame or management frame that implicitlyidentifies the transmission modes based on the content of the frame.

FIG. 13A is a diagram illustrating a time-domain function 1300 for adownlink non-legacy short training field (e.g., the HE-STF 910),according to an embodiment. In the time-domain function 1300, k is aninteger tone index, N_(HE-STF) ^(Tone) corresponds to the frequencysequence for the HE-STF field 910, N_(STS,total)(k) is a number of totalspatial streams on the k^(th) tone, w_(T) is a windowing function,N_(user)(k) is a number of users on the k^(th) tone, α_(k) is a powerboost factor for the k^(th) tone, HES_(k) is the HE-STF sequence on thek^(th) tone, Q_(k) ^((i) ^(seg) ⁾ is the steering matrix for the k^(th)tone on segment i_(seg), γ_(k,BW) is a tone rotation on the k^(th) tonewithin bandwidth segment BW, ΔF is the tone spacing, T_(CS,HE) is acyclic shift per space time stream, N_(SR) is a highest data subcarrierindex, M_(u) is a number of space time streams that have already beenallocated to other users for the current data unit, m is an integerspace time stream index, α_(,u) is the power boost factor for clientstation u at the k^(th) tone, and δ_(k,u) is equal to “1” if the clientstation u has an uplink grant on the k^(th) tone, otherwise δ_(k,u) isequal to “0.” In an embodiment, the tone rotation Y_(k,BW) correspondsto the tone rotation defined in equations 22-14, 22-15, 22-16, and 22-17of the IEEE 802.11ac standard, and the equations 22-14, 22-15, 22-16,and 22-17 of the IEEE 802.11ac standard are hereby incorporated byreference herein.

In some embodiments, the downlink data unit 900 is an orthogonalfrequency division multiple access (OFDMA) data unit. In an embodiment,the AP 14 boosts a transmission power for each non-zero tone of theHE-STF 910 according to a power control function selected for OFDMAtransmissions to a particular client station. For example, in anembodiment, a transmission power level assigned to each client stationis P_(m), m=1 . . . M, where M is a total number of client stations thatare scheduled for the data unit. In this embodiment, the tones scheduledfor each client station are (f_(m−1), f_(m)] and the AP 14 boosts thetransmission power for tones of the HE-STF 910 at frequency f within(f_(m−1), f_(m)], by an amount corresponding to P_(m)/(P₁+P₂+ . . .+P_(M)).

In various embodiments or scenarios, the client station 25 transmits oneor more of the data units 900 to the AP 14 as an uplink data unit. Insome embodiments, the uplink data unit 900 is an uplink MU-MIMO dataunit. In an embodiment, the client station 25 modulates the HE-STF 910and the data portion 716 using a same steering matrix (e.g., antennamapping). In some embodiments, the uplink data unit 900 is an uplinkOFDMA data unit. In one such embodiment, the client station 25 transmitsthe HE-STF 910 i) only over tones assigned, allocated, or granted to theclient station 25, and ii) with a transmission power boost to normalizethe HE-STF 910 with the data portion 716. In other embodiments, theclient station 25 transmits the HE-STF 910 over additional tones thathave not been assigned, allocated, or granted to the client station 25and uses a transmission power boost corresponding to the actual numberof populated tones of the HE-STF 910.

For example, in an embodiment, the client station 25 transmits theHE-STF 910 using all tones of the corresponding frequency sequence. Inanother embodiment, the client station 25 transmits the HE-STF 910 usinga predetermined minimum number of tones. In yet another embodiment, theclient station 25 transmits the HE-STF 910 using a maximum of i) thetones assigned, allocated, or granted to the client station 25, and ii)the predetermined minimum number of tones. Where additional tones areused to transmit the HE-STF 910, the client station 25 transmits theadditional tones using respective non-zero steering matrices. In anembodiment, the client station 25 extrapolates the non-zero steeringmatrices from the steering matrices corresponding to the assigned,allocated, or granted tones. In another embodiment, the client station25 selects a random or pseudo-random steering matrix as the non-zerosteering matrices. In yet another embodiment, the client station 25selects columns of a fast Fourier transform matrix as the non-zerosteering matrices.

FIG. 13B is a diagram illustrating a time-domain function 1350 for anuplink non-legacy short training field (e.g., the HE-STF 910), accordingto an embodiment. In the time-domain function 1350, k is an integer toneindex, N_(HE-STN) ^(Tone) corresponds to the frequency sequence for theHE-STF field 910, N_(STS,u)(k) is a number of spatial streams for theu^(th) user (i.e., client station or communication device) on the k^(th)tone, W_(T) is a windowing function, HES_(k) is the HE-STF sequence onthe k^(th) tone, A_(Q) ^((i) ^(seg) ⁾ is the steering matrix for thek^(th) tone on segment i_(seg), Y_(k,BW) is a tone rotation on thek^(th) tone within bandwidth segment BW, Δ_(F) is the tone spacing,T_(CS,HE) is a cyclic shift per space time stream, N_(SR) is a highestdata subcarrier index, m is an integer space time stream index, α_(k,u)is the power boost factor for client station u at the k^(th) tone, andδ_(k,m) is equal to “1” if the client station u has an uplink grant onthe k^(th) tone, otherwise δ_(k,u) is equal to “0.”

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram of an example method 1400 for generating anOFDM data unit that conforms to a first communication protocol fortransmission via a communication channel, according to an embodiment. Inat least some embodiments, the OFDM data unit is the data unit 900 andthe first communication protocol is the HE communication protocol. Withreference to FIG. 1, the method 1400 is implemented by the networkinterface 16, in an embodiment. For example, in one such embodiment, thePHY processing unit 20 is configured to implement the method 1400.According to another embodiment, the MAC processing 18 is alsoconfigured to implement at least a part of the method 1400. Withcontinued reference to FIG. 1, in yet another embodiment, the method1400 is implemented by the network interface 27 (e.g., the PHYprocessing unit 29 and/or the MAC processing unit 28). In otherembodiments, the method 1400 is implemented by other suitable networkinterfaces.

At block 1402, a first training field is generated to be included in apreamble of the OFDM data unit. The first training field i) conforms toa second communication protocol, and ii) has an integer number of OFDMsymbols L_(N) having a periodicity L_(P). In an embodiment, the firsttraining field is the L-STF 702, which conforms to the IEEE 802.11astandard and includes ten OFDM symbols having a periodicity of 0.8microseconds.

At block 1404, a second training field is generated to be included inthe preamble after the first training field. In an embodiment, thesecond training field i) conforms to the first communication protocol,ii) has an integer number of OFDM symbols H_(N) having a periodicityH_(P), and iii) is based on a frequency sequence having non-zero valuesat an interval K, where K is an integer. In an embodiment, the secondtraining field is the HE-STF 910, which conforms to the HE communicationprotocol. In various embodiments, the frequency sequence is one of thefrequency sequences 1000, 1025, 1100, 1125, 1150, 1200, or 1225. In someembodiments, the first training field is based on the frequency sequencehaving non-zero values at an interval K/2. In some embodiments, theinterval K is equal to eight and the integer number L_(N) is at leastthree. In other embodiments, the interval K is equal to four and theinteger number L_(N) is at least two. In still other embodiments, theinterval K is equal to 16 and the integer number L_(N) is at least five.In an embodiment, block 1404 includes duplicating the frequency sequenceto obtain a lower portion of the second training field and duplicatingthe frequency sequence to obtain an upper portion of the second trainingfield. In this embodiment, the lower portion has a negative frequencyoffset from a direct current tone and the upper portion has a positivefrequency offset from the direct current tone.

At block 1406, the first training field is modulated using a first tonespacing L_(TS) between adjacent OFDM tones. In an embodiment, the firsttone spacing L_(TS) is a legacy tone spacing of 312.5 KHz, correspondingto a 64-point DFT across a bandwidth of 20 MHz. In another embodiment,the first tone spacing is a legacy tone spacing of 312.5 KHz,corresponding to a 64-point DFT repeated across a plurality of 20 MHzsub-bands.

At block 1408, the second training field is modulated using a secondtone spacing H_(TS). The first tone spacing L_(TS) is a multiple M ofthe second tone spacing H_(TS). The second training field is generatedsuch that the periodicity H_(P) is i) proportional to the periodicityL_(P) and the interval K, and ii) inversely proportional to the multipleM. In an embodiment, M is equal to four and the second tone spacingH_(TS) is 78.125 KHz.

In some embodiments, the periodicity H_(P) corresponds to a selectedtransmission mode from a plurality of transmission modes where each ofthe plurality of transmission modes corresponds to a differentperiodicity and the preamble is generated to indicate the selectedtransmission mode. For example, in an embodiment, the preamble isgenerated to include the periodicity indication (PI) 902. In someembodiments, the selected transmission mode is selected from theplurality of transmission modes based on a deployment usage of thecommunication channel. For example, in an embodiment, a firsttransmission mode corresponds to a periodicity of 0.8 microseconds and asecond transmission mode corresponds to a periodicity of 1.6microseconds or 3.2 microseconds. In this embodiment, the firsttransmission mode is selected when the deployment usage is characterizedby shorter channel delay spreads (e.g., indoor communication channels)or higher SNR values and the second transmission mode is selected whenthe deployment usage is characterized by longer channel delay spreads(e.g., outdoor communication channels) or lower SNR values, usingsuitable thresholds for delay spreads and/or SNR values.

In an embodiment, each OFDM tone for the second training field ismodulated using a steering matrix that corresponds to a same OFDM toneof a data portion of the OFDM data unit. In another embodiment, eachOFDM tone for the second training field is modulated using a steeringmatrix that is interpolated from steering matrices of neighboring OFDMtones of a data portion of the OFDM data unit. In yet anotherembodiment, a plurality of consecutive OFDM tones for the secondtraining field are modulated using a same transmit beamforming steeringmatrix.

At block 1410, the preamble is generated to include at least the firsttraining field and the second training field. In an embodiment, thepreamble also includes the L-LTF 704, the L-SIG 706, the HE-SIGA 708,the HE-LTFs 712, and the HE-SIGB 714, in the order shown in FIG. 9.

At block 1412, the OFDM data unit is generated to include at least thepreamble. In some embodiments, the OFDM data unit includes the dataportion 716. In other embodiments, the data portion 716 is omitted.

In some embodiments, the OFDM data unit is an uplink orthogonalfrequency division multiple access (OFDMA) data unit that includes adata portion. In an embodiment, the second training field and the dataportion of the uplink OFDMA data unit are caused to be transmitted to acommunication device with a same normalized transmission power appliedto OFDM tones that are assigned to the communication device. Forexample, in an embodiment, the access point 14 assigns a tone block tothe client station 25 and the client station applies a transmissionpower boost to the second training field and the data portion 716. Insome embodiments, the OFDM data unit is an uplink multi-user multipleinput, multiple output (MU-MIMO) data unit having a data portion. In anembodiment, the second training field and the data portion are caused tobe transmitted to a communication device with a same normalizedtransmission power applied to OFDM tones that are assigned to thecommunication device. In some embodiments, the OFDM data unit is adownlink multi-user multiple input, multiple output orthogonal frequencydivision multiple access (MU-MIMO-OFDMA) data unit that is transmittedto a communication device with a selective transmission power boostapplied to OFDM tones of the second training field that are assigned tothe communication device.

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram of an example method 1500 for generating anOFDM data unit that conforms to a first communication protocol fortransmission via a communication channel, according to an embodiment. Inat least some embodiments, the OFDM data unit is the data unit 900 andthe first communication protocol is the HE communication protocol. Withreference to FIG. 1, the method 1500 is implemented by the networkinterface 16, in an embodiment. For example, in one such embodiment, thePHY processing unit 20 is configured to implement the method 1500.According to another embodiment, the MAC processing 18 is alsoconfigured to implement at least a part of the method 1500. Withcontinued reference to FIG. 1, in yet another embodiment, the method1500 is implemented by the network interface 27 (e.g., the PHYprocessing unit 29 and/or the MAC processing unit 28). In otherembodiments, the method 1500 is implemented by other suitable networkinterfaces.

At block 1502, a first training field is generated to be included in apreamble of the OFDM data unit. The first training field i) conforms toa second communication protocol, and ii) has a first periodicity. In anembodiment, the first training field is the L-STF 702, which conforms tothe IEEE 802.11a standard and has a periodicity of 0.8 microseconds.

At block 1504, a second training field is generated to be included inthe preamble after the first training field. The second training fieldi) conforms to the first communication protocol, and ii) has a secondperiodicity that corresponds to a selected transmission mode of thecommunication channel. In an embodiment, the second training field isthe HE-STF 910, which conforms to the HE communication protocol. Invarious embodiments, the selected transmission mode is selected from aplurality of transmission modes where each of the plurality oftransmission modes corresponds to a different periodicity. In anembodiment, the selected transmission mode is selected based on adeployment usage of the communication channel. In an embodiment, thesecond periodicity is different from the first periodicity.

At block 1506, the first training field is modulated using a first tonespacing between adjacent OFDM tones. In an embodiment, the first tonespacing is a legacy tone spacing of 312.5 KHz, corresponding to a64-point DFT across a bandwidth of 20 MHz. In another embodiment, thefirst tone spacing is a legacy tone spacing of 312.5 KHz, correspondingto a 64-point DFT repeated across a plurality of 20 MHz sub-bands.

At block 1508, the second training field is modulated using a secondtone spacing, where the second tone spacing is narrower than the firsttone spacing. In an embodiment, the second tone spacing is 78.125 KHz.

At block 1510, the preamble is generated i) to include at least thefirst training field and the second training field, and ii) to indicatethe selected transmission mode. In an embodiment, block 1510 includesgenerating a first OFDM symbol for a non-legacy signal field of the OFDMdata unit and modulating the first OFDM symbol followed by a duplicateof the first OFDM symbol to indicate the selected transmission mode. Inan embodiment, the preamble is generated to include the periodicityindication (PI) 902.

At block 1512, the OFDM data unit is generated to include at least thepreamble. In an embodiment, the OFDM data unit omits a data portion. Inanother embodiment, the OFDM dada unit includes a data portion.

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram of an example method 1600 for generating anOFDM data unit that conforms to a first communication protocol fortransmission via a communication channel, according to an embodiment. Inat least some embodiments, the OFDM data unit is the data unit 900 andthe first communication protocol is the HE communication protocol. Withreference to FIG. 1, the method 1600 is implemented by the networkinterface 16, in an embodiment. For example, in one such embodiment, thePHY processing unit 20 is configured to implement the method 1600.According to another embodiment, the MAC processing 18 is alsoconfigured to implement at least a part of the method 1600. Withcontinued reference to FIG. 1, in yet another embodiment, the method1600 is implemented by the network interface 27 (e.g., the PHYprocessing unit 29 and/or the MAC processing unit 28). In otherembodiments, the method 1600 is implemented by other suitable networkinterfaces.

At block 1602, a transmission mode frame that identifies a transmissionmode for the OFDM data unit from a plurality of transmission modes isreceived from an access point. In various embodiments, the identifiedtransmission mode is selected by the access point from a plurality oftransmission modes where each of the plurality of transmission modescorresponds to a different periodicity. In an embodiment, the identifiedtransmission mode is selected by the access point based on a deploymentusage of the communication channel. In an embodiment, the transmissionmode frame is a trigger frame that i) triggers the generation of theOFDM data unit, and ii) explicitly identifies the transmission mode fromthe plurality of transmission modes.

At block 1604, a first training field is generated to be included in apreamble of the OFDM data unit. The first training field i) conforms toa second communication protocol, and ii) has a first periodicity. In anembodiment, the first training field is the L-STF 702, which conforms tothe IEEE 802.11a standard and has a periodicity of 0.8 microseconds.

At block 1606, a second training field is generated to be included inthe preamble after the first training field. The second training fieldi) conforms to the first communication protocol, and ii) has a secondperiodicity that corresponds to the identified transmission mode. In anembodiment, the second training field is the HE-STF 910, which conformsto the HE communication protocol. In an embodiment, the secondperiodicity is different from the first periodicity. In an embodiment,the identified transmission mode is selected based on content of thetrigger frame that implicitly identifies the identified transmissionmode. In an embodiment, the content of the trigger frame includesresource allocation information that identifies allocations of OFDMAresource units (RUs) for a plurality of client stations. In anembodiment, the identified transmission mode is selected from theplurality of transmission modes based on an allocation status of apredetermined OFDMA RU of the resource allocation information. In anembodiment, the transmission mode frame is a control frame or managementframe that includes a periodicity indication corresponding to theidentified transmission mode.

At block 1608, the first training field is modulated using a first tonespacing between adjacent OFDM tones. In an embodiment, the first tonespacing is a legacy tone spacing of 312.5 KHz, corresponding to a64-point DFT across a bandwidth of 20 MHz. In another embodiment, thefirst tone spacing is a legacy tone spacing of 312.5 KHz, correspondingto a 64-point DFT repeated across a plurality of 20 MHz sub-bands.

At block 1610, the second training field is modulated using a secondtone spacing, where the second tone spacing is narrower than the firsttone spacing. In an embodiment, the second tone spacing is 78.125 KHz.

At block 1612, the preamble is generated to include at least the firsttraining field and the second training field. In an embodiment, block1612 includes generating a first OFDM symbol for a non-legacy signalfield of the OFDM data unit and modulating the first OFDM symbolfollowed by a duplicate of the first OFDM symbol to indicate theselected transmission mode. In an embodiment, the preamble is generatedto include the periodicity indication (PI) 902.

At block 1614, the OFDM data unit is generated to include at least thepreamble. In an embodiment, the OFDM data unit omits a data portion. Inanother embodiment, the OFDM dada unit includes a data portion.

FIG. 17 is a flow diagram of an example method 1700 for causing atransmission of an OFDM data unit that conforms to a first communicationprotocol via a communication channel, according to an embodiment. In atleast some embodiments, the OFDM data unit is the data unit 900 and thefirst communication protocol is the HE communication protocol. Withreference to FIG. 1, the method 1500 is implemented by the networkinterface 16, in an embodiment. For example, in one such embodiment, thePHY processing unit 20 is configured to implement the method 1500.According to another embodiment, the MAC processing 18 is alsoconfigured to implement at least a part of the method 1500. Withcontinued reference to FIG. 1, in yet another embodiment, the method1500 is implemented by the network interface 27 (e.g., the PHYprocessing unit 29 and/or the MAC processing unit 28). In otherembodiments, the method 1500 is implemented by other suitable networkinterfaces.

At block 1702, a transmission mode is selected for the OFDM data unitfrom a plurality of transmission modes. In an embodiment, each of theplurality of transmission modes corresponds to a different periodicityand the selected transmission mode corresponds to a selectedperiodicity.

At block 1704, a transmission mode frame that identifies the selectedtransmission mode is generated. In an embodiment, the transmission modeframe is a control frame or management frame that includes a periodicityindication corresponding to the selected transmission mode. In anotherembodiment, the transmission mode frame is a trigger frame that i)triggers the generation of the OFDM data unit, and ii) explicitlyidentifies the selected transmission mode. In an embodiment, content isgenerated for a data portion of the transmission mode frame thatimplicitly identifies the selected transmission mode so that the clientstation can determine the selected transmission mode based on thecontent. In an embodiment, the content of the transmission mode frameincludes resource allocation information that identifies allocations ofOFDMA resource units (RUs) for a plurality of client stations. Forexample, in an embodiment, OFDMA RUs are allocated for the plurality ofclient stations so that an allocation status of a predetermined OFDMA RUimplicitly identifies the selected periodicity, and the resourceallocation information is generated to correspond to the allocationstatus.

At block 1706, the transmission mode frame is transmitted to a clientstation so that the client station can determine the selectedperiodicity from the transmission mode frame for application to anon-legacy short training field of the OFDM data unit transmitted by theclient station.

In an embodiment, the OFDM data unit is received via the communicationchannel. In an embodiment, a legacy training field is processed from apreamble of the OFDM data unit using a legacy tone spacing betweenadjacent OFDM tones. The legacy training field conforms to a legacycommunication protocol (e.g., IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11n, and/or IEEE802.11ac), in an embodiment. In an embodiment, the non-legacy trainingfield is processed from the preamble of the OFDM data unit using anon-legacy tone spacing. The non-legacy tone spacing is narrower thanthe legacy tone spacing and the non-legacy training field: i) conformsto the first communication protocol, and ii) has the selectedperiodicity that corresponds to the selected transmission mode, in anembodiment. A data portion of the OFDM data unit is demodulated based onthe processed non-legacy training field, in an embodiment. For example,in an embodiment, the access point performs an automatic gain control(AGC) function and demodulates and/or decodes the data portion based onthe AGC function.

Further aspects of the present invention relate to one or more of thefollowing clauses.

In an embodiment, a method for generating an orthogonal frequencydivision multiplex (OFDM) data unit that conforms to a firstcommunication protocol for transmission via a communication channelincludes generating a first training field to be included in a preambleof the OFDM data unit. The first training field: i) conforms to a secondcommunication protocol, and ii) has an integer number of OFDM symbolsL_(N) having a periodicity L_(P). The method includes generating asecond training field to be included in the preamble after the firsttraining field, wherein the second training field: i) conforms to thefirst communication protocol, ii) has an integer number of OFDM symbolsH_(N) having a periodicity H_(P), and iii) is based on a frequencysequence having non-zero values at an interval K, where K is an integer.The method includes modulating the first training field using a firsttone spacing L_(TS) between adjacent OFDM tones. The method includesmodulating the second training field using a second tone spacing H_(TS),where the first tone spacing L_(TS) is a multiple M of the second tonespacing H_(TS). The method includes generating the preamble to includeat least the first training field and the second training field. Themethod includes generating the OFDM data unit to include at least thepreamble. Generating the second training field includes generating thesecond training field such that the periodicity HP: is i) proportionalto the periodicity LP and the interval K, and ii) inversely proportionalto the multiple M.

In other embodiments, the method includes any suitable combination ofone or more of the following features.

The interval K is equal to eight and the integer number L_(N) is atleast three.

The first training field is based on the frequency sequence havingnon-zero values at an interval K/2. Generating the second training fieldincludes duplicating the frequency sequence to obtain a lower portion ofthe second training field, the lower portion have a negative frequencyoffset from a direct current tone, and duplicating the frequencysequence to obtain an upper portion of the second training field, theupper portion having a positive frequency offset from the direct currenttone.

The interval K is equal to four and the integer number L_(N) is at leasttwo.

The interval K is equal to 16 and the integer number L_(N) is at leastfive.

The periodicity H_(P) corresponds to a selected transmission mode of aplurality of transmission modes, each of the plurality of transmissionmodes corresponding to a different periodicity; and generating thepreamble includes generating the preamble to indicate the selectedtransmission mode.

The method further includes selecting the selected transmission modefrom the plurality of transmission modes based on a deployment usage ofthe communication channel.

The OFDM data unit is a downlink multi-user multiple input, multipleoutput orthogonal frequency division multiple access (MU-MIMO-OFDMA)data unit, and the method further includes causing the downlinkMU-MIMO-OFDMA data unit to be transmitted to a communication device witha selective transmission power boost applied to OFDM tones of the secondtraining field that are assigned to the communication device.

The OFDM data unit is an uplink orthogonal frequency division multipleaccess (OFDMA) data unit, and the method further includes causing thesecond training field and a data portion of the uplink OFDMA data unitto be transmitted to a communication device with a same normalizedtransmission power applied to OFDM tones that are assigned to thecommunication device.

The OFDM data unit is an uplink multi-user multiple input, multipleoutput (MU-MIMO) data unit, and the method further includes causing thesecond training field and a data portion of the uplink MU-MIMO data unitto be transmitted to a communication device with a same normalizedtransmission power applied to OFDM tones that are assigned to thecommunication device.

Modulating the second training field includes modulating each OFDM tonefor the second training field using a steering matrix that correspondsto a same OFDM tone of a data portion of the data unit.

Modulating the second training field includes modulating each OFDM tonefor the second training field using a steering matrix that isinterpolated from steering matrices of neighboring OFDM tones of a dataportion of the data unit.

Modulating the second training field includes modulating a plurality ofconsecutive OFDM tones for the second training field using a sametransmit beamforming steering matrix.

Generating the first training field includes generating a legacy shorttraining field and generating the second training field includesgenerating a non-legacy short training field.

Generating the OFDM data unit includes omitting a data portion of theOFDM data unit.

In another embodiment, a communication device that generates anorthogonal frequency division multiplex (OFDM) data unit conforming to afirst communication protocol for transmission via a communicationchannel includes a network interface device having one or moreintegrated circuits. The one or more integrated circuits are configuredto generate a first training field to be included in a preamble of theOFDM data unit. The first training field: i) conforms to a secondcommunication protocol, and ii) has an integer number of OFDM symbolsL_(N) having a periodicity L_(P). The one or more integrated circuitsare configured to generate a second training field to be included in thepreamble after the first training field. The second training field: i)conforms to the first communication protocol, ii) has an integer numberof OFDM symbols H_(N) having a periodicity H_(P), and iii) is based on afrequency sequence having non-zero values at an interval K, where K isan integer. The one or more integrated circuits are configured tomodulate the first training field using a first tone spacing L_(TS)between adjacent OFDM tones. The one or more integrated circuits areconfigured to modulate the second training field using a second tonespacing H_(TS), where the first tone spacing L_(TS) is a multiple M ofthe second tone spacing H_(TS). The one or more integrated circuits areconfigured to generate the preamble to include at least the firsttraining field and the second training field. The one or more integratedcircuits are configured to generate the OFDM data unit to include atleast the preamble. The one or more integrated circuits are configuredto generate the periodicity H_(P) to be: i) proportional to theperiodicity L_(P) and the interval K, and ii) inversely proportional tothe multiple M.

In other embodiments, the communication device includes any suitablecombination of one or more of the following features.

The interval K is equal to eight and the integer number L_(N) is atleast three.

The interval K is equal to four and the integer number L_(N) is at leasttwo.

The interval K is equal to 16 and the integer number L_(N) is at leastfive.

The periodicity H_(P) corresponds to a selected transmission mode of aplurality of transmission modes, each of the plurality of transmissionmodes corresponding to a different periodicity, and the one or moreintegrated circuits are configured to generate the preamble to indicatethe selected transmission mode.

The OFDM data unit is an uplink orthogonal frequency division multipleaccess (OFDMA) data unit. The one or more integrated circuits areconfigured to cause the second training field and a data portion of theuplink OFDMA data unit to be transmitted to a communication device witha same normalized transmission power applied to OFDM tones that areassigned to the communication device.

The OFDM data unit is an uplink multi-user multiple input, multipleoutput (MU-MIMO) data unit, and the one or more integrated circuits areconfigured to cause the second training field and a data portion of theuplink MU-MIMO data unit to be transmitted to a communication devicewith a same normalized transmission power applied to OFDM tones that areassigned to the communication device.

The one or more integrated circuits are configured to modulate each OFDMtone for the second training field using a steering matrix thatcorresponds to a same OFDM tone of a data portion of the OFDM data unit.

The one or more integrated circuits are configured to modulate each OFDMtone for the second training field using a steering matrix that isinterpolated from steering matrices of neighboring OFDM tones of a dataportion of the OFDM data unit.

The one or more integrated circuits are configured to omit a dataportion of the OFDM data unit.

In an embodiment, a method for generating an orthogonal frequencydivision multiplex (OFDM) data unit conforming to a first communicationprotocol for transmission via a communication channel includes:generating a first training field to be included in a preamble of theOFDM data unit, wherein the first training field: i) conforms to asecond communication protocol, and ii) has a first periodicity;generating a second training field to be included in the preamble afterthe first training field, wherein the second training field: i) conformsto the first communication protocol, and ii) has a second periodicitythat corresponds to a selected transmission mode of the communicationchannel; modulating the first training field using a first tone spacingbetween adjacent OFDM tones; modulating the second training field usinga second tone spacing, where the second tone spacing is narrower thanthe first tone spacing; generating the preamble: i) to include at leastthe first training field and the second training field, and ii) toindicate the selected transmission mode; and generating the OFDM dataunit to include at least the preamble.

In other embodiments, the method includes any suitable combination ofone or more of the following features.

The method further includes selecting the selected transmission modefrom a plurality of transmission modes, each of the plurality oftransmission modes corresponding to a different periodicity.

Selecting the selected transmission mode includes selecting thetransmission mode based on a deployment usage of the communicationchannel.

The second periodicity is different from the first periodicity.

Generating the preamble includes: generating a first OFDM symbol for anon-legacy signal field of the OFDM data unit; and modulating the firstOFDM symbol followed by a duplicate of the first OFDM symbol to indicatethe selected transmission mode.

Generating the OFDM data unit includes omitting a data portion of theOFDM data unit.

In an embodiment, a communication device that generates an orthogonalfrequency division multiplex (OFDM) data unit conforming to a firstcommunication protocol for transmission via a communication channelincludes a network interface device having one or more integratedcircuits. The one or more integrated circuits are configured to:generate a first training field to be included in a preamble of the OFDMdata unit, wherein the first training field: i) conforms to a secondcommunication protocol, and ii) has a first periodicity, generate asecond training field to be included in the preamble after the firsttraining field, wherein the second training field: i) conforms to thefirst communication protocol, and ii) has a second periodicity thatcorresponds to a selected transmission mode of the communicationchannel, modulate the first training field using a first tone spacingbetween adjacent OFDM tones, modulate the second training field using asecond tone spacing, where the second tone spacing is narrower than thefirst tone spacing, generate the preamble: i) to include at least thefirst training field and the second training field, and ii) to indicatethe selected transmission mode, and generate the OFDM data unit toinclude at least the preamble.

In other embodiments, the communication device includes any suitablecombination of one or more of the following features.

The one or more integrated circuits are configured to select theselected transmission mode from a plurality of transmission modes, eachof the plurality of transmission modes corresponding to a differentperiodicity.

The one or more integrated circuits are configured to select thetransmission mode based on a deployment usage of the communicationchannel.

The second periodicity is different from the first periodicity.

The one or more integrated circuits are configured to: generate a firstOFDM symbol for a non-legacy signal field of the OFDM data unit, andmodulate the first OFDM symbol followed by a duplicate of the first OFDMsymbol to indicate the selected transmission mode.

The one or more integrated circuits are configured to omit a dataportion of the OFDM data unit.

In another embodiment, a method for generating an orthogonal frequencydivision multiplex (OFDM) data unit conforming to a first communicationprotocol for transmission via a communication channel includes:receiving, from an access point, a transmission mode frame thatidentifies a transmission mode for the OFDM data unit from a pluralityof transmission modes; generating a first training field to be includedin a preamble of the OFDM data unit, wherein the first training field:i) conforms to a second communication protocol, and ii) has a firstperiodicity; generating a second training field to be included in thepreamble after the first training field, wherein the second trainingfield: i) conforms to the first communication protocol, and ii) has asecond periodicity that corresponds to the identified transmission mode;modulating the first training field using a first tone spacing betweenadjacent OFDM tones; modulating the second training field using a secondtone spacing, where the second tone spacing is narrower than the firsttone spacing; generating the preamble to include at least the firsttraining field and the second training field; and generating the OFDMdata unit to include at least the preamble.

In other embodiments, the method includes any suitable combination ofone or more of the following features.

The transmission mode frame is a trigger frame that i) triggers thegeneration of the OFDM data unit, and ii) explicitly identifies thetransmission mode from the plurality of transmission modes.

The transmission mode frame is a trigger frame that triggers thegeneration of the OFDM data unit, and generating the second trainingfield to be included in the preamble includes selecting the identifiedtransmission mode based on content of the trigger frame that implicitlyidentifies the identified transmission mode.

The content of the trigger frame includes resource allocationinformation that identifies allocations of OFDMA resource units (RUs)for a plurality of client stations, and determining the identifiedtransmission mode based on content of the trigger frame includesselecting the identified transmission mode from the plurality oftransmission modes based on an allocation status of a predeterminedOFDMA RU of the resource allocation information.

The transmission mode frame is a control frame or management frame thatincludes a periodicity indication corresponding to the identifiedtransmission mode.

In an embodiment, a method for causing a transmission of an orthogonalfrequency division multiplex (OFDM) data unit conforming to a firstcommunication protocol via a communication channel includes: selecting atransmission mode for the OFDM data unit from a plurality oftransmission modes, wherein each of the plurality of transmission modescorresponds to a different periodicity and the selected transmissionmode corresponds to a selected periodicity; generating a transmissionmode frame that identifies the selected transmission mode; andtransmitting the transmission mode frame to a client station so that theclient station can determine the selected periodicity from thetransmission mode frame for application to a non-legacy short trainingfield of the OFDM data unit transmitted by the client station.

In other embodiments, the method includes any suitable combination ofone or more of the following features.

The method further includes receiving the OFDM data unit via thecommunication channel, processing a legacy training field from apreamble of the OFDM data unit using a legacy tone spacing betweenadjacent OFDM tones, wherein the legacy training field conforms to alegacy communication protocol, processing the non-legacy training fieldfrom the preamble of the OFDM data unit using a non-legacy tone spacing,wherein the non-legacy tone spacing is narrower than the legacy tonespacing and the non-legacy training field: i) conforms to the firstcommunication protocol, and ii) has the selected periodicity thatcorresponds to the selected transmission mode, and demodulating a dataportion of the OFDM data unit based on the processed non-legacy trainingfield.

Generating the transmission mode frame that identifies the selectedtransmission mode includes generating a trigger frame that i) triggersthe generation of the OFDM data unit, and ii) explicitly identifies theselected transmission mode.

Generating the transmission mode frame that identifies the selectedtransmission mode includes generating content for a data portion of thetransmission mode frame that implicitly identifies the selectedtransmission mode so that the client station can determine the selectedtransmission mode based on the content.

The content of the transmission mode frame includes resource allocationinformation that identifies allocations of OFDMA resource units (RUs)for a plurality of client stations. Generating the transmission modeframe includes: allocating OFDMA RUs for the plurality of clientstations so that an allocation status of a predetermined OFDMA RUimplicitly identifies the selected periodicity, and generating theresource allocation information that corresponds to the allocationstatus.

Generating the transmission mode frame includes generating a controlframe or management frame that includes a periodicity indicationcorresponding to the selected transmission mode.

At least some of the various blocks, operations, and techniquesdescribed above may be implemented utilizing hardware, a processorexecuting firmware instructions, a processor executing softwareinstructions, or any combination thereof. When implemented utilizing aprocessor executing software or firmware instructions, the software orfirmware instructions may be stored in any computer readable medium suchas a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread only memory (ROM), a flash memory, a memory of a processor, amagnetic tape, etc. The software or firmware instructions may includemachine readable instructions that, when executed by one or moreprocessors, cause the one or more processors to perform various acts.

When implemented in hardware, the hardware may comprise one or more ofdiscrete components, an integrated circuit, an application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), etc.

While the present invention has been described with reference tospecific examples, which are intended to be illustrative only and not tobe limiting of the invention, changes, additions and/or deletions may bemade to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the scope ofthe invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: receiving, at acommunication device, a first physical layer (PHY) data unit via acommunication channel, wherein the first PHY data unit corresponds to atrigger frame that is configured to prompt the communication device totransmit a second PHY data unit in response to receiving the first PHYdata unit, wherein the first PHY data unit includes: a first PHYpreamble having a legacy portion and a non-legacy portion, a firsttraining field in the legacy portion of the first PHY preamble, whereinthe first training field is for packet detection and for automatic gaincontrol (AGC) adjustment, and wherein the first training field includesa first training signal having a periodicity L_(P), and a secondtraining field in the non-legacy portion of the first PHY preamble,wherein the second training field includes a second training signalhaving the periodicity L_(P); generating, at the communication device,the second PHY data unit, wherein the second PHY data unit includes: asecond PHY preamble having a legacy portion and a non-legacy portion, athird training field in the legacy portion of the second PHY preamble,wherein the third training field is for packet detection and for AGCadjustment, and wherein the third training field includes a thirdtraining signal, and a fourth training field in the non-legacy portionof the second PHY preamble, wherein the fourth training field includes afourth training signal having a periodicity 2*L_(P); wherein generatingthe second PHY data unit comprises: modulating the third training fieldusing a first tone spacing L_(TS) between adjacent OFDM tones, andmodulating the fourth training field using a second tone spacing equalto L_(TS)/4 between adjacent OFDM tones; and transmitting, by thecommunication device, the second PHY data unit in response to the firstPHY data unit.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein: the periodicity L_(P)of the second training signal is 0.8 microseconds; and the periodicityof the fourth training signal is 1.6 microseconds.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein: the first training signal has the periodicity L_(P);and the third training signal has the periodicity L_(P).
 4. The methodof claim 1, wherein: the first tone spacing L_(TS) is 312.5 kilohertz;and the second tone spacing is 78.125 kilohertz.
 5. The method of claim1, wherein generating the second PHY data unit comprises: generating afirst OFDM symbol corresponding to the third training field, wherein thefirst OFDM symbol includes i) non-zero value tones at intervals of K/2tones, and ii) zero value tones between the non-zero value tones,wherein K is a positive even integer; and generating a second OFDMsymbol corresponding to the fourth training field, wherein the secondOFDM symbol includes i) non-zero value tones at intervals of K tones,and ii) zero value tones between the non-zero value tones.
 6. The methodof claim 5, wherein K is one of 4, 8, or
 16. 7. The method of claim 1,wherein generating the second PHY data unit comprises: generating, atthe communication device, a data portion of the second PHY data unit. 8.The method of claim 7, wherein generating the data portion of the secondPHY data unit comprises: modulating information in the data portionusing the second tone spacing.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein: thefirst PHY data unit is received from an access point (AP) of a wirelesslocal area network (WLAN); and the second PHY data unit is transmittedin an uplink (UL) transmission to the AP.
 10. The method of claim 9,wherein transmitting the second PHY data unit comprises transmitting thesecond PHY data unit as part of an UL multi-user transmission to the AP.11. An apparatus, comprising: a network interface device having one ormore integrated circuit (IC) devices configured to: receive a firstphysical layer (PHY) data unit via a communication channel, wherein thefirst PHY data unit corresponds to a trigger frame that is configured toprompt the network interface device to transmit a second PHY data unitin response to receiving the first PHY data unit, wherein the first PHYdata unit includes: a first PHY preamble having a legacy portion and anon-legacy portion, a first training field in the legacy portion of thefirst PHY preamble, wherein the first training field is for packetdetection and for automatic gain control (AGC) adjustment, and whereinthe first training field includes a first training signal having aperiodicity L_(P), and a second training field in the non-legacy portionof the first PHY preamble, wherein the second training field includes asecond training signal having the periodicity L_(P); wherein the one ormore IC devices are further configured to: generate the second PHY dataunit, wherein the second PHY data unit includes: a second PHY preamblehaving a legacy portion and a non-legacy portion, a third training fieldin the legacy portion of the second PHY preamble, wherein the thirdtraining field is for packet detection and for AGC adjustment, andwherein the third training field includes a third training signal, and afourth training field in the non-legacy portion of the second PHYpreamble, wherein the fourth training field includes a fourth trainingsignal having a periodicity 2*L_(P); wherein generating the second PHYdata unit comprises: modulating the third training field using a firsttone spacing L_(TS) between adjacent OFDM tones, and modulating thefourth training field using a second tone spacing equal to L_(T)/4between adjacent OFDM tones; and wherein the one or more IC devices arefurther configured to transmit the second PHY data unit in response tothe first PHY data unit.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein: theperiodicity L_(P) of the second training signal is 0.8 microseconds; andthe periodicity of the fourth training signal is 1.6 microseconds. 13.The apparatus of claim 11, wherein: the first training signal has theperiodicity L_(P); and the third training signal has the periodicityL_(P).
 14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein: the first tone spacingL_(TS) is 312.5 kilohertz; and the second tone spacing is 78.125kilohertz.
 15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the one or more ICdevices are further configured to: generate a first OFDM symbolcorresponding to the third training field, wherein the first OFDM symbolincludes i) non-zero value tones at intervals of K/2 tones, and ii) zerovalue tones between the non-zero value tones, wherein K is a positiveeven integer; and generate a second OFDM symbol corresponding to thefourth training field, wherein the second OFDM symbol includes i)non-zero value tones at intervals of K tones, and ii) zero value tonesbetween the non-zero value tones.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15, whereinK is one of 4, 8, or
 16. 17. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the oneor more IC devices are further configured to: generate a data portion ofthe second PHY data unit.
 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the oneor more IC devices are further configured to: modulate information inthe data portion using the second tone spacing.
 19. The apparatus ofclaim 11, wherein: the first PHY data unit is received from an accesspoint (AP) of a wireless local area network (WLAN); and the one or moreIC devices are further configured to transmit the second PHY data unitin an uplink (UL) transmission to the AP.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19,wherein the one or more IC devices are further configured to transmitthe second PHY data unit as part of an UL multi-user transmission to theAP.
 21. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein: the network interface devicecomprises a physical layer (PHY) processing unit implemented on the oneor more IC devices; and the PHY processing unit is configured to:receiver the first PHY data unit, generate the second PHY data unit, andtransmit the second PHY data unit.
 22. The apparatus of claim 21,wherein the network interface device further comprises a media accesscontrol (MAC) processing unit implemented on the one or more IC devices,and wherein the MAC processing unit is coupled to the PHY processingunit.
 23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the PHY processing unitcomprises one or more transceivers.
 24. The apparatus of claim 23,further comprising: one or more antennas coupled to the one or moretransceivers.